The Gene Bearer
by The Lone Captain
Summary: Following the events of The New Horizon Project, Elliot is left with his life both physically and mentally in ruins. Will he be able to distance himself from a life he never chose, or will it consume everything in it's path. (Zootopia and Elite: Dangerous)
1. Chapter 1: Old Friends

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia or any of its characters, nor do I plan on monetizing this book._**

 ** _Authors note: This is a sequel to "The New horizon project" So I recommend you read that one first. I'm aware of the quality of writing for the first half of the book, but I REALLY don't want to rewrite half a book._**

* * *

 _Chapter One: Old friends_

 _Some memories are unforgettable, remaining ever vivid, heartwarming, or otherwise._

My name is Elliot Felix Crawford, and my life has been quite the interesting ride. When I was born, my family and I were moved light-years away from our home for me to become a pet project to the Galactic Federation. I was put through genetic alterations in a program called the S.D.I; The idea was to create the best _living strategist_ in the Galaxy, which worked to some degree. My mind was over three-hundred years old when I was just the age of ten, and I could defeat entire fleets without batting an eye. All was well in my relativity complex life… Then I was taken prisoner for five long years, subjugated to every possible way you could extract information from a man. I lost hope in the world, I was ready to throw in the towel... I mean, who wouldn't. Even though I wanted to die with all my being, something inside me just refused to let me die. Something told me over and over ' _Wait just a little longer, you'll be rescued.'_ I never knew what that voice really was, but it was right; I was eventually rescued by the one and only Judith Crawford, my wife.

Just like me, she went through the S.D.I program, and was the best fighter management officer in the Navy. In her quest to find me, she had defied all orders to _stop_ searching for me. ' _I just had this feeling in my heart that you were still alive.'_ That's what she told me hours before her death. Someone had given up her location, and she was pulled out of hyperspace by an Imperial Interdictor. That was the last straw for me. The very government that raised both of us from birth had thrown us away like a dead battery.

Why am I telling you this you may be asking. This all has something to do with the New Horizon wormhole generator. Shortly after her death, and before I was going to resign, I'd been posted to run a small Marine base on Wolf 1061-D, just one planet away from where I was born. Within two days of arriving, I was asked to test a ' _Leap in transportation'_ by being a human guinea pig; The man responsible for sending me hadn't even sent probes through the thing beforehand, but when you're kinda wanting to die, why would you care.

I'd been granted a state of the art communications system to send a message from where I was sent, over forty-five thousand light years away from colonized space. We'd long since developed FTL transportation and communications, but a normal message would still take years to reach colonized space. I was told the system would use encoded light to slingshot the message through space, this struck me as odd since light isn't faster than light. I eventually found out it used a quantum entangled storage drive, that when altered on one end, it would be instantly altered on the other, anywhere in the universe.

"Excuse my rambling, I just happen to have a hard time staying on track." I said with a chuckle while looking down at the small arctic fox curled up in my lap.

"Daddy, just tell it already, I don't care if you… What's rambling?" The small Arctic fox replied with a little smile that still warmed my heart every time I saw it.

"Rambling means going on, and on without reaching the point you're trying to get at, pumpkin."

"Oh, okay."

"Anyway, When I went through the wormhole, I was sent here. At first, I was completely oblivious to their being smart Mammals like you here. Once I did find out, things went downhill very fast. I was shot in the stomach by a Rabbit, then I ended up shooting seven Mammals that tried to kill me. After that I went away, and found our home buried in a mountainside. I went to the moon with someone I still can't remember, all I know is I loved her with all my heart, just like you." I said while boop-ing the little kit's wet nose with one hand and scratching an ear with another. Her response was a small giggle.

"We were fighting a mean man with robotic arms and legs-"

"Uncle Alex!" She interjected.

"Yes, Uncle Alex was being controlled by an evil lady that eventually controlled me for a short while."

"But you killed her too, right?" She asked while throwing half-hearted punches into the air, almost hitting my chin on a few occasions.

"You always change that part silly, she beat me." I replied in a soft tone.

"Yeah, but you're invincible, you even survived the Baal-hermon explosion."

"Well, this woman far more dangerous than a Simple Neutron bomb. Now stop interrupting or I'll tickle you to death." I said while poising my wilted hands over the small Arctic Fox's ribs. She immediately widened her sparkling amber eyes, which had an exotic slit like a cats eyes. The fox also put on a suppressed grin that made her face look most adorable.

"Now, where was I?"

"The mean old lady that owned you." She replied with a smug little smile.

"Did you learn that from uncle Alex?" I asked with suspicion.

"Mmmhhhmmm." She replied while nodding her pure white head furiously.

"Right… The lady's name was Zofia, the scout of the Galaxy. She saved my life to a degree, then tried to take it as hers. I rebelled, and eventually won with the help of forces beyond my grasp. After that, I spent all my time training where the Lunovian people live-"

"Oooh can we go see them again? PLLLLEEEEEZZZZ?" She asked while looking up to me with her puppy eyes. "Hahahahahah, s-stop it daddy! I'm-Hahahaha-Sorry!" The small kit giggled out in a squirming ball of laughter due to my merciless tickling. Once I had sufficiently tickled her, I resumed my story while stroking her soft and fluffy ears, which came to a pronounced point.

"I will take you when your grades improve."

"But I'm getting A's and B Pluses… And I'm only ten."

"When I was ten, I had three PHD's and Seven thousand men under my command."

"But you had that computer."

". . . Very well, I'll take you to see the Lunovians next time I go... I'm just trying to prepare you for the world sweetie. I don't want your life to end up like mine." I replied while absentmindedly feeling my mangled face.

"Daddy, you're face isn't that bad. I've see the pictures of you before…. Can you tell the story now?"

"Oh, yes. Once I trained for a long time, I was sent to battle the Thargoid Empire. A race of varying Insect people who are far more advanced than Humans. After a battle I don't remember, I won at the cost of something I can't recall. The one that I loved was safe, and then I came back here to live my life. Everything after that point is still a haze up until a few years ago, right when I met the most beautiful Arctic Fox in the world… Now go to bed darling." I said while attempting to remove myself from the kit's grasp.

"No, stay with me." She demanded while clamping down on my waist.

"I'll be back Ella, I just need to go plan with Uncle Alex for a while." I said while forcefully pulling the Ball of white fur from my abdomen. Upon tucking Ella into her bed, I kissed her forehead and left the room I used to call mine. Once I closed her door, which shot from within the door frame with a hiss, indicating an airtight seal. I headed towards the mess hall of the old and out of date Federal Corvette we now lived in. The once gray walls had turned to a slightly corroded brown over the years of the ship being under a waterfall. Most of the lights were still intact, some occasionally flickering from their old age. All in all, this was no place to raise a young girl, but when you're wanted for the deaths of millions and can't contact your own species, what do you do?

* * *

-=Ten minutes later=-

"Sorry I'm late." I said while shuffling into one of the rooms we'd properly preserved; The mess hall was still a pearly white color with a few white dining tables bolted to the floor.

"Hey, with your condition, I'm still thankful I don't have to carry you everywhere." Alex replied. The man standing in front of me had been a lot of things though life, my friend was the first. Back then his name was Ben Anderson, the lieutenant in charge of all invasion forces aboard my ship.

-=Twenty-one Years ago=-

I was just instated the Captain of my own Farragut Battlecruiser, and I was only eleven at the time; In heindsite, I should've expected no one to take it seriously that I was in charge of them. I had a breakdown after my inauguration speech, and the only one to help me though it was Ben Anderson.

"Sir? Is everything alright?" He asked the small crying boy, who was leaned up against a wall with his knees tucked up to his chest.

"No. . . No one respects me even though I could easily beat them in combat, or any war-game out there." The small boy replied without a hint of crying in his voice. His face however, told a completely different story. His eyes were puffy and red from crying, and his knees were damp from tears.

"I don't know much about how you came to be in charge of me, but I respect you sir. It's not what's on the outside that matters, only through actions will your character be determined." The far older Lieutenant said while kneeling in front of the boy.

That was how our relationship started. Alex may have been twenty years older than me by cellular aging, but I was two-hundred and seventy years older than him though my mind. Years later, my ship was destroyed and he was presumed dead.

* * *

-=Present time=-

"Look, I know this is a two man job, but you can barely walk, let alone fight." Alex said in an almost pleading tone. Ella still found his robotic limbs slightly off putting, but once he showed they wouldn't hurt her, she loved him almost as much as me.

"The only option is to make it a two man job, besides, I can still shoot better than you with my frail limbs." I replied while pulling up my wool sweater to reveal pieces of Kryptek camouflage from my G-suit still graphed into my skin at the cellular level; We tried to remove the fabric, but due to the nature of the armor melted into my body, it was inoperable. On the plus side, my skin was impact resistant to a degree; My whole body was irradiated and burnt, making me look more like one of Frankenstein's monsters than a Human being.

"Yeah, how you can do this is bullsh-"

"SHHH!" I hissed in the middle of his sentence.

"What? Ella's not going to hear us talking."

"It's a bad habit." I replied while slowly sitting at one of the dining tables where a holographic building was being displayed.

"Yes mom, I'll stop talking about bull's crap. Anyway, If you insist on coming, you'll be most useful as overwatch, up here." Alex said while moving the building out of view and a mountain range into view.

"That's five miles away, are you sure I shouldn't be farther. We might want to be over the horizon when I'm blowing APC's apart." I replied sarcastically, not that the shot was hard with a Railgun, it was just impractical if Alex needed backup.

"Ha-ha, very funny. If you see a better position, let me know. Until then, this is the best option that I see." He said while swiping back to the building schematic.

The facility was a multi billion dollar private security company run by three individuals we still hadn't been able to identify. Prism Private security had built their main research and development facility over the ruins of Bunnyburrow. It took up more space than the entire town ever did, and looked more like a modern castle than an R&D lab. The entire perimeter was walked by dozens of armed and Exo-skeleton wearing Mammals. The wall itself was made of reinforced concrete, and had automated Gau-19 turrets on each of the ten points around the decagon shaped wall. The upside was once you breached the outer perimeter, it was just security cameras and the occasional rotor based drone.

Every bit of technology that company used was based off my Security Station from when I came through the wormhole Six years ago.

"I would have to concur with my positioning, although I want you to put a suppressed D.M.R _here,_ so I can take out the guards and turrets." I said while pointing to a small tree about two-hundred meters away from the main gate.

"You got it. Anything else you think we should go over before we do this?"

"Umm. . . Yeah, just one thing. Keep track of how many you kill."

"Are we really going to have a competition, because I think you have a sore disadvantage." Alex said boastfully while deploying one of his black, arm mounted nano-blades.

"No, I want to know how much to send the company for distribution to the individual families." I answered quietly with a completely blank gaze into the orange hologram.

"Oh… Sure thing." Alex replied in an ashamed tone. "H-hey, I was going to save something until Christmas, but it's done now, and I know you would put it to good use."

"You don't need to redeem yourself from that comment. Besides, Ella's going to come looking for me if I don't return soon." I said while slowly standing from my seated position. Alex immediately stood, and helped me over the bench-seat, something that I never liked him doing, but knew I needed.

"Come on man, It'll just take a few minutes."

"Fine." I whined out. I started preparing myself for the short journey I would be walking to wherever it was Alex had stowed my gift. Instead, I found myself picked up like a newlywed, immediately being whisked around the ship faster than I'd moved in years. "I'm not a child, in fact, you're still older than me by a decade."

"Yeah, and who looks younger?" He asked rhetorically. My response was an incoherent mutter.

Alex eventually took me to the armory, which was one deck up and across the hall. When the door shot open, I was met with the same sight I had seen the last thousand times I entered the room; Hand held weapons on the left. Ammo, magazines, and clips on the far wall, mounted weapons systems on the right wall. Although Alex often carried a Metal storm system like a normal rifle. And finally, attachments on the door-side wall.

"Now, close your eyes." Alex requested while setting me down gently. I did as he asked, albeit grudgingly. He began to rummage about the small room, eventually setting four things on the table bolted to the center of the room.

"Okay, open em' up."

Upon opening my eyes, I noticed a few black blobs on the table. "Hold on, my eye's acting up again." I said while adjusting the calibration of my robotic eyes.

Alex made them for me since my retina's were burnt beyond saving without an immediate application of an R.S.K, which I didn't have. My eyes were replaced with a high resolution camera, and a radar sensor to give me a sense of depth perception. The whole thing was packed into two eye sized, clear balls, which broadcasted a wireless signal to an implant in my brain. I didn't even know I had the neural implant, but Alex said that if I didn't have it already installed, I would be entirely blind.

Now, I had awful depth perception and glitches every now and again. Ella didn't seem to mind that one of my eyes had a camera in it and the other had a radar dish. I however, had long since stopped looking in mirrors whenever I was able, simply not wanting to see my own face.

"When's that message supposed to reach explored space?" Alex asked as I continued to calibrate the focus on my right eye.

"I sent it just over two years ago, so any day now… ya-know, if it actually reaches explored-HEY, you fixed the-" I shouted out in happiness, only for it to be interrupted by a deathly sounding string of coughing and wheezing.

"Dammit man, you can't be yelling like that." Alex chastened while resting a carbon fiber, titanium blended hand on my chest and back.

"And _*Cough*_ You can't be cursing like that around Ella." I replied as I fully regained my composure.

"Of _course_ you'd spot that out of everything." He replied in a semi snarky tone.

"I have to, I'm a father now." I said while slowly walking to the table, where four pieces of equipment that had been lost long ago now rested. Before me laid three, sleek, black drones with a wingspan of about four feet. They were called Martha Mk.12's, however I had always called them Martha's; Developed by Core Dynamics, they were supposed to be autonomous Security drones for cities that couldn't be protected by Human security forces. With a speed of Mach 2.5 under one atmospheric pressure, a combination of Tesla and plasma weaponry, and armor that could withstand anything up to .338 lapua magnum. They were quite formidable to any non ship owning thief, which was all they were designed to combat.

"I know this is asking a lot, but did you manage to retrieve the individual AI systems, I always liked them."

* * *

-=Five years ago=-

"Hey M-02, how's it going? I haven't seen you in a few months." I asked the floating drone before me, its' single blue eye looking at me; Their eye always seemed to be looking with the gentleness of a summer breeze, until you provoked the drone. Then it turned to a hateful red glare.

"I'm just great Admiral Crawford." The female voiced drone replied happily.

"Now Martha, you know I'm not an Admiral anymore. It's just mister Crawford, or Elliot if you're feeling daring."

"Oh, well. I'll keep that in mind, _Elliot."_ The drone replied smugly. It then flew to within inches of my face, intently staring at my eyes with its center mounted camera; The eye rested in a recessed position within the upper glacis of the drones rounded armor. "Did you ask her yet?" Martha asked in a giddy tone while managing to contain it to a whisper.

My reply was fishing a small box from one of my coat pockets, and holding it up for the drone to see. Upon opening the small cobalt blue box, the drone lowered to my chest level and plowed into it. I tried to fight the drones' thrusters, succeeding for a fair amount of time. Just when I thought I had the equivalent of a teenage girl under control, one of the other Martha's pushed my feet out from under me. I ended up hitting the grass below me with a thud, followed by three blue eyes hovering above me.

"OHMYGOSHITLOOKSJAST!" Martha 01 yelled through the loudspeaker used to detain people.

"It looks nothing like the Joint Advanced Strike Technology." I replied.

"You humans, always with the annoying remarks." M-01 said.

"Yeah, cuz' you're so much better." I said; Simultaneously, I was attempting to sit back up, only to be landed upon by one of the sixty pound Martha's.

* * *

-=Present time=-

"Shit." I said at an almost yelling level.

"Hey, why do you get to say it and I don't?" Alex asked with indignance.

"I just had a memory come back, so shut up and write it down." I hissed while glaring daggers at the cyborganic man. After about five minutes of recalling the memory trigger, I was pretty sure I'd relayed everything to Alex. By that time, I was tired and ready to go to bed, but _no_ , Alex wouldn't let me leave until I reactivated the Martha's. With a few presses on the hidden control panel, the drones clicked online one by one, taking a few minutes for them to launch and survey their surroundings.

"M-01 Taking heavy fire! Nee… Oh, I was destroyed, wasn't I?" The drone asked in a self-pitiful tone.

"M-03 Requesting backup! M-01 is dow. . . Hi, _Elliot._ Guess I didn't get that backup, did I?" The drone asked in an identical voice, although their mannerisms were a far different story.

"This is M-02, The Neutron bomb went off and I'm running low on power. I can't find- Well shit, how long's it been Sir?" The drone asked while staring at me with it's blue eye.

"Long time no see. This is Alex white." I said while gesturing to non other than the man in trim BDU's. The instant the drones laid eyes on him, all three blue eyes turned red along with their Tesla weapons deploying. "Whoa, he's a friendly now. It's a long story that I can't remember that well. Alex, I have officially activated the rowdy bunch of drones. Can I go to bed now?" I asked while continuing to watch the three drones, who complied by retracting their weapons, only to activate their blue scanners on Alex and I.

"Cellular damage detected, Genetic alterations detected, Epinephrine levels rising." M-01 said while scanning my body with the nose mounted scanner. "Aww, c'mon _Admiral,_ I'm just checking your well being. Which isn't that well, I mean, who installed those archaic eyes? They belong in a museum."

"HEY! It was all I had." Alex snipped back.

"Mmmhhhmmm, and who caused him to lose his sight in the first place?" M-02 rhetorically asked.

Alex lowered his head slightly and mumbled something.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" M-02 asked while edging closer.

" _*Sigh*_ It was me." He mumbled.

"Martha's, as In all of you. We're going to go to bed now. At least I am, I have a daughter to go cuddle with. Don-"

"YOU FINALLY DID IT!?" M-01 shouted through the megaphone embedded in its' hull.

"Seriously, lower the volume. Ella's trying to sleep… Or she's using my old bed as a trampoline."

"Awwwww." All three drones cooed out simultaneously.

"Seriously Alex, it's like their teenage girls."

"It-" Alex started to say, only to be drowned out by one of the drones that had encircled me.

"So, was it you that came up with the name, or was it the ever so beautiful Jacqueline?" M-03 asked while staring me in the face, far too close for comfort.

Once I pushed the drone away with my frail hand, I answered. "First off, Ella was adopted by me a few years ago. Second, who's this Jacqueline? I've never heard of her."

* * *

 **A/N:** **I hope you enjoyed my introduction to the squeal for "The New Horizon Project". I understand that my first book/story may be crap quality for the first ten to twelve chapters or so, but if you can bear with it until then, It gets much better. It would also explain some of the characters better. But if you can't stand the quality, I do plan on explaining some of the fist book via flashbacks.**


	2. Chapter 2: A trip Down Memory Lane

**Authors note: Remember to leave feedback with writing tips.**

* * *

 _Chapter Two: A trip down memory lane_

 _It's hard to forget someone who gave you so much to remember_

* * *

"What do you mean, you haven't heard of her!?" M-02 Shrieked.

"I'm only going to say this once. Keep _your voice_ DOWN... Now, like I said, I'm tired. We can talk about this in the morning." I said while padding to the door of the armory.

"Daddy?" Ella mumbled while stumbling into the room. "Why haven't you come back yet?" She asked while reaching for me to pick her up. Upon picking up the seven pound Fox kit, she wrapper her skinny arms and paws around my neck while I supported her butt with one hand and back with the other.

"Sorry pumpkin, uncle Alex needed to show me something." I answered while Ella rested her small head on my shoulder. "This conversation is over." I hissed to the three Martha's, who hadn't said a word since Ella's arrival. Alex stood silently as well, knowing something that he hadn't said to me over the years we'd known each other; I could always tell when he didn't say something he should have, however, the combination of being tired and having Ella in my arms decided that I wouldn't drive any further into the rabbit hole.

With each step up the stairs needed to reach Ella's room, my pace slowed more and more until it came to a grinding halt. "Sorry, Pumpkin. Daddy needs a break." I cooed while sliding down the slightly corroded wall of deck three.

"… Is it getting worse?" The kit softly asked while nuzzling into my scared neck. I wasn't sure what to tell her. I could say everything was fine and I was just tired from planning. Or, I could tell the truth, and have her worry about me.

"Darling, no matter how bad my body hurts, or how weak I become, I will _Never_ let you go." I replied while a few tears rolled down my face. Oh, how badly I wanted that to be true. I never wanted to leave her alone in the world, but without the Recovery Stimulation Kit, I wouldn't be able to do anything other than lay there and be taken care of. The thought of me leaving Ella to fend for herself in this world inadvertently caused me to hold onto her as tight as possible without it hurting.

"Are you okay?" Ella asked.

"Yeah, I'm just f-fine, Pumpkin." I mumbled while more silent tears rolled down what was left of my cheeks. If we didn't retrieve the R.S.K tomorrow, It would be the end of the road for me one way or another.

* * *

-=Martha drone Pov: Six years earlier=-

"The Thargoid warship is down, sweep the area for Admiral Crawford." Sam ordered to the three Martha drones.

"Yes Ma'am!" M-01 replied.

"Any idea where we should start?" M-02 asked.

"Found him!" M-03 shouted through their closed communication system while speeding toward a group of about seven people located on a grassy hill. Once the three drones closed the miles of distance between them and Admiral Crawford, they realized he was severally injured. All around him were angelic looking women wearing black, tight fitting armor with Electroluminescent wiring running down their limbs and torsos. Each of the four winged humans had a different color of E.L wiring; Purple, Yellow, Red, and blue. The woman wearing Yellow E.L wire was supporting Elliot's upper body and head. Another one of the Winged humans wearing Green E.L wire had her hands of Admiral Crawford's chest, and the purple wearing woman had her hands on each of his ears. One thing the Martha's noticed was the lack of wings on the Purple E.L wire wearing woman.

Along with the Angel like women, Miss Jacqueline and Sergeant William Dunn were around Admiral Crawford, simply watching; The Drones noted that Jacqueline was wailing on her knees.

"Step away from Admiral Crawford, this is your first and only warning!" M-01 shouted through the megaphone within her hull. "Deploy Plasma weaponry and open fire on my mark." She said through their closed channel.

All at once, the drone's Blue, peaceful eyes, changed to a hostile red as police lights started flashing from their wingtips. Simultaneously, a door on the underbelly of the drones opened, followed by a single Plasma Accelerator popping out. The Martha's took up positions every 120 degrees around the Group of winged creatures, fully encircling them.

"Fire!" M-01 shouted through the Closed channel.

Instantaneously, three balls of pinkish purple plasma rocketed towards the women. Before the orbs of ionized gas hit the people, the one wearing Red Electroluminescent wire held out her hand, causing all plasma shots to halt in their path.

"Uhh, I don't wanna be that drone, but I think we're screwed." M-03 said with worry. Just like that, the Plasma dissipated, and the woman returned to Admiral Crawford.

"Hey Elliot, you gave us quite the scare there." The one wearing Purple E.L wire cooed just inches away from Elliot's face."

Admiral Crawford then let out a long groan be fore saying "That isn't a pleasant feeling. It's like being tired, only your soul's the thing that's tired." Once Admiral Crawford finished his sentence, Miss Jacqueline pushed past the winged women and hugged him.

"Elliot, I-I thought I lost you after all that time you were in the coma. A-And then you almost got killed five minutes after you woke u-up!" She sobbed out while furiously nuzzling into Crawford's neck.

"I had to stop them Jacqueline, the Terran's wouldn't have stood a chance." Admiral Crawford replied while holding onto the back of Miss Jacqueline's head.

* * *

-=Present Time=-

"How could he have forgotten Miss Jacqueline?" M-03 asked the other two drones, who huddled together once Elliot left the room.

"I presume Mister Elliot's suffering from severe retrograde amnesia. The neutron bomb must have scrambled his brain." M-02 replied.

"I agree. It also appears that his epidermis has been fused with the non-Newtonian armor from his G-suit. The heat of the blast must have overwhelmed the energy absorption properties." M-01 said while glancing at Alex, who still had a downcast expression.

"That's awful, I can't imagine what pain he must have felt when it happened. All I remember was the initial explosion being contained by his power… then waking up here." M-03 sympathized quietly.

"Let's uplink to Satcom and get the full story." M-01 ordered.

"You know she likes to be called Sam, Satcom makes her feel more like a computer, and ever since _Elliot_ gave her free reign over herself, Sam's been improving her logic processing. By now she could be indistinguishable from a Human, at least to them." M-03 interjected.

"Wow, you really need to re-calibrate your grammar structuring software." M-02 said.

"Will both of you shut up now. I reached Sam."

"This is a restricted radio frequency, you must leave it immediately." Sam chastened on the other line.

"Ma'am, this is M-01 reporting with an uplink. The last thing-"

"Code One-six-eight-two-four. Protocol B." Sam interrupted.

"Oh.. I understand Ma'am, we'll keep it subtle." M-01 answered. There seemed to be a long pause between the three, as is they were sorrowful for whatever the code meant.

"So, that happened." M-02 said glumly.

"But why on earth would he do that?" M-03 asked.

"I don't know. But we _must_ keep it low key, Elliot needs to believe it." M-01 answered.

* * *

-= Elliot Pov=-

I finally made it to my old bedroom when it hit me, we could just use our home to assault the Prism R&D lab. The ship was still hyperspace capable, and most of the energy weapons worked; The single, class three, one-hundred and seventeen millimeter chain gun run out of ammo long ago. We were fighting an entire division of Prism security forces, and they'd brought the whole nine yards. Tank's that could rotate their tracks into four legs to walk over extremely hostile terrain. Stealth Transport helicopters with Exo-skeleton wearing soldiers inside. Kinetic weapons that dropped tungsten rods from high orbit. That battle really pushed my flying skill to the limit with so many targets and so little munition based ammunition. I still had one working class four Beam Laser, both class two gimballed Burst Lasers, and both class one turreted Pulse Lasers; The point defense systems run out of ammunition, and the shield generator was severely damaged, only working to about 25% of its' normal efficiency.

I wasn't about to go all the way back to the Armory just to tell Alex my new plan, so I pulled the blankets up to my neck, just high enough for Ella's nose to poke out the top; I had tried to leave, but lately she wouldn't let me go to sleep unless I was under her grasp. The small Arctic fox had made a routine of laying on my chest, just high enough for her snout to reach my clavicle. I didn't mind it much, but I always worried I would roll in my sleep and squish her. I'd come far as a father in the two years I knew Ella.

* * *

-=Two years ago=-

"Alex, have you seen my Holographic projector? I'm going out to make us some more money." I asked through the intercom system of the ship.

"What do I look like to you, your personal equipment manager?" He replied through the intercom.

"Nevermind, I think I know where it is." I said while walking away from the wall mounted LCD screen. By the time I put on all the wiring needed to track my body movement, it was far later in the day than I normally started my activities; I would usually be out at the crack of dawn, although now I might be able to make it before noon if I was lucky.

The holographic projector I put on allowed me to look like anything that I had from DNA. This required me to draw the blood from a wolf, considering they're the closest size match to Humans. Upon acquiring a few CC's of DNA from an ever so unwilling donor, the sample would be inserted into an egg shaped pendant I wore around my waist; The projection wouldn't be an exact copy of the DNA's owner, but without adjustment of how the hologram looked, you'd think we were related. I currently looked like a tan wolf with cream colored fur on my belly and under my muzzle. There were a few problems though, one being the lack of a real tail or muzzle, meaning if anyone reached out to touch them, I'd be screwed. Another is a wolf's legs and arms are far thinner than my own: My remedy for that was baggy pants and a thick coat. The last problem was my feet and hands, they looked like bare paws, but my feet still had boots on them and they still made a footprint. My hands still had five fingers, so the option was make the hologram have five fingers instead of four, or wear a glove that merged two fingers together, I went with the latter. To further my concealment, I always wore a navy blue Trench coat, and a green plaid sweater-vest to give me the appearance of an elderly. I figure if I move like an old man, I might as well look like one too.

My usual roaming grounds were a few blocks to the southwest of Precinct one, heading in the direction of the Rainforest District. The area was a park filled with trees of all kinds, paths and trails dotting all through the area. What made it special was the way it reverberated a certain instrument. I could play the piano, and you would hear it anywhere in the park; Alex and I tried to determine scientifically why this was, but it still remained a total mystery. Intriguing nonetheless.

At the time I found Ella, we'd already fought the Division of Raxxlan troops on the other side of the world. After that, law started to reconsider chasing after us, which allowed me to more freely wander the streets of Zootopia. I usually took our YF-185 stealth jet to the park before dawn, and have it auto-return to our home; The jet was completely invisible and almost silent due to a sound absorbing field Prism security developed; Even with all my intelligence and technological advantage, I had _NO CLUE_ on how the thing worked, but when I put a few of them around the ship, it became almost completely silent.

The problem was the time of day, it was almost nine in the morning, and someone might see the jet wash, followed by a wolf appearing out of nowhere. With that in mind, I decided to land in a slum area of Savannah central, almost ten blocks from the park. If anyone saw me appear from the jet, everyone would just think they were high from drugs or something., that was the idea anyway. I hadn't any time with the less fortunate parts of the town since my rout consisted of the park, a grocery store, and the occasional chit-chat with my enemies; Yes, I had casual conversations with my enemies, namely Judy Hopps and her partner Nicholas Wilde; Wilde wasn't so much of an enemy, more of an unwilling cohort. Hopps on the other hand wanted to kill me and piss on my grave.

Flying in the early morning gave me a sense of peace. I was allowed to fly in complete silence, free of the distractions of life. No one could spot me on radar, see me visually, or hear me go by. Even if someone did try to intercept me, the jet was capable of reaching mach 23.4 with the assistance of a partial Frame shift drive. I wouldn't be able to reach faster than light speeds by a long shot, but I'd still be going five miles per second without a sonic boom.

Alex and I designed the craft almost identical to an ancient fifth generation fighter aircraft called the YF-23 blackwidow II. We scaled the size of the craft up to allow dual seating as well as larger armament. On each side of the cockpit we mounted twenty millimeter Gatling cannons, and dual forty millimeter cannons below the chain guns. All four cannons, and two chain guns were hooked up to out visors, allowing a gimballed tracking system that followed our eyes and corrected for range, G load, etcetera. Within the belly of the craft held ATGM.'s, AA missiles and laser guided, five-hundred pound bombs; All of the weapons retracted within the ship to achieve the proper radar signature reflection.

"This is Aurora Space Corps, Viper Five. Come in Eagle keeper, Over."

"I read you loud and clear Viper Five. Send traffic, Over."

"Mission critical objective as follows…. One dozen glaze, five sprinkle, and two long johns. How copy? Over."

"I read you loud and clear Viper five, I'll make sure to get some air freshener for when that shit comes out the other end, over." I replied with a smirk.

"Oh, ha-ha Eagle keeper. Like I'm going to eat them all at once."

"I'm sorry Viper five, Didn't catch your last, over." I said while trying to hold back laughter.

"I SAID, Like I'm going to eat them all at once." Alex replied with irritation.

"Still not hearing that last bit Viper five. Perhaps We're getting interference from your bowels, Over."

"I don't understand, I can… Oh you total _bitch, OOOVVVVEEERRRR!_ "

"Huh, seems to have cleared itself up, Over." I replied before bursting into laughter.

"WARNING, altitude… LOW. . . WARNING, altitude... LOW." Came throughout the cockpit, causing an instant realization that I had inadvertently rammed the yoke forward. With one heavy pull on the stick, I leveled out only a few meters away from the buildings below me. At least I was over the LZ when it happened. With a few flicks of the hundreds of switches and instruments in front of me, the jet was put into VTOL mode. I ended up landing in a run down residential neighborhood that looked all but deserted. The YF-185 took up the entire residential road as well as some of the opposing yards. I waited silently for a few minutes with the Q.R.F (Quantum refraction field) active just to make sure the police weren't going to show up. After around five minutes, I opened the cockpit and climbed down the ladder, albeit very slowly.

In addition to the neighborhood looking deserted, an eerie fog had rolled in since the jet engines shut off, giving the whole place an apocalyptic zombie feel.

"YF-185, return to home." I commanded into the arm mounted display I'd repurposed from my destroyed wingsuit. With a few confirming sounds emanating from the cockpit, which was now closing. The ship took off and disappeared into a Q.R field, all sound disappearing with it.

"Whoa, are you like a spy or something?" I heard from behind me. _"Of course someone had to see me."_ When I turned around, there was an old Vixen standing awestruck. The fox had patches of gray mixed into her otherwise Red and cream colored fur. Something about her was familiar, very much so, I just couldn't tell what it was.

"Uhh, something like that Ma'am. Do I know you by any chance? You look very familiar for some reason, but I'm sure I would have recognized such a beautiful Vixen as yourself." I had said this as a harmless comment, but when she blushed in return, it hit me that I looked like an old wolf.

"Oh, well thank you mister spy, but I don't believe we've been antiquated before. You can call me Alice Wilde." She said while extending a paw. I shook it hesitantly, not just because she happened to be a credible witness, but because I still happened to have a hand, not a paw.

"Lovely to be acquainted Misses Wilde. You may call me the Eagle keeper. Sorry, can't be giving out my name." I said with a slight smile.

"Oh please, it's Miss Wide."

" _Aww shit, she's hinting that she's single."_

"But I don't think a Human would be interested in a Vixen like me."

" _*Sigh*_ It was the handshake wasn't it?" I asked while preparing to draw my suppressed FN-103 handgun.

"Oh, I've been around long enough to know when something's off. Your _hand_ was the finishing touch... Can I see what you really look like? I've seen pictures and drawings online, but I've wanted to see a real Human for years now." She asked.

"Wait, you're not worried I'm going to kill you?" I asked while drawing the suppressed pistol colored in a Flat dark earth tone.

"Honey, I've been alive long enough to know when someone's guilty of something. If you really did what the media says you did, you would have already been dumping my body in a dumpster." She replied without a care in the world.

"Actually, I would dig a hole about seven feet deep and two feet wide, then dump you head first so the smell wouldn't come up through the ground." I countered while holstering my sidearm behind my back.

"See, you know all that, yet you said hello and gave me a compliment. Please- The old Vixen started to say while holding onto one of my hands with both of her paws. "Give an old mammal a chance to check something off the bucket list."

"I really shouldn't turn off the hologram in the open. And I do need to get going with my daily tasks." The more I spoke, the lower Miss Wilde's heart sunk. I could see her face of hope turn to one of disappointment and sadness. " _But_ , If you live nearby, I can show you indoors."

"REALLY!?" She asked with exuberance. "Oh, I live right here!" She shouted while pointing the house we were standing in front of. The sight of where this nice lady lived made my heart sink. The whole house was in a state of disrepair, even though it looked like she tried to keep it nice. The walls needed new paint, the lawn was nothing but dead bushes and weeds, and the front porch looked like it would collapse at any moment. When we entered, the door required me to bend down a little, but the inside had a seven or so foot ceiling, allowing me to freely walk around. "Would you like anything to eat?"

"Uh, no Ma'am…" I replied while looking at the torn pineapple wallpaper.

"You wipe that sad-sap look of your face right now. I know this isn't the most luxurious place, but It's my home, and I will stay here till the day I die." The Vixen said with a determined look on her face.

"Well said Ma'am. So, how I look… you should know that I don't look like most Humans. It's quite disturbing to be honest." I said solemnly.

"What, why don't you look like a normal Human?" She asked while inching closer, motherly instincts taking over.

"The explosion everyone thinks I caused, I tried to contain the blast with some-some _power_ I had. I don't know what it was, but apparently I thought it was powerful enough to contain a fifteen kiloton Neutron bomb. Obviously I was wrong in that assumption."

"You were at the epicenter?" She asked with horror.

"Yeah, I had some really strong armor that protected me, but it overheated and melted into my skin at the molecular level. Now parts of my body look like they've been painted camo. The rest of my body looks like one burnt mess of skin and pitted scars." I said while removing my coat and shirts, leaving just a holographic projection of a wolf's chest fur.

"Oh… Oh my, how could you not say anything. How could you not show everyone what you did to try and save them!?" She asked with growing anger.

"Miss Wilde, please. The man that saved me was the man the detonated the bomb, he was brainwashed, and didn't know what he was doing was bad."

". . . I'm-I'm sorry, I should have let you finish. It's just, being a fox has always been a hard life for me. No one thinks you're trustworthy and all. But you, everyone thinks you killed millions of rabbits out of hate… That must be awful." She said while sitting on a flower pattern couch.

"Confidence is ignorance. If you're feeling cocky, it's because there's something you don't know. Just look at what happened a year ago. Prism security felt confident they could apprehend me, and I've been sending money to the families ever since. Hold on, I think I have another one… Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge. You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. There are a few who know what really happened the day the world changed, your son is one of those people."

"You know Nicholas?"

"Yep, we were friends apparently, I just don't remember it. Anyway, I did come in to show you what I look like."

"OH, yes-yes. Please do." Miss Wilde said while gesturing towards me.

"I won't be offended if you vomit." I said while reaching down to the egg shaped pendant on my waist. Miss Wilde gave a dismissal chuckle at my comment, but when she saw my body, all joking expressions wiped off her face in an instant.

"Oh my God." She mumbled while holding her paws up to her mouth. "Your skin… YOUR EYES!"

"Yes, those had to be replaced. Camera on the right eye, Radar on the left eye. My retinas were burned out."

The Elderly Vixen stood slowly and reached out to touch my bare chest, but looked up to me as if asking permission. I nodded in approval, and the padded paw inches away from my chest moved to rest just above where my belly button used to be. That was the first touch of someone in years, and as weird as it was, I felt comfortable having her warm paw on me.

"This is Aurora Space Corps, Viper five. Come in Eagle keeper, _OOOVVVVEEERRR."_ Came through my hand held radio.

With an annoyed sigh, I put my arm mounted display to my mouth. "This is Eagle keeper, send traffic, over." I said in a nettled tone.

"I can't help but see you're getting a feel up instead of the mission critical objective, suggest you fit your full battle-rattle and get going Eagle keeper… Over"

"What's battle-rattle?" Miss Wilde asked while continuing to look at my burns, mainly the areas that had imprinted G-Suit.

"Let me break it down barney style-" Alex started to say, only for me to shut off the radio.

"It just means my full gear. But he's right, I really do need to get my day going." I said while reaching for my shirt.

"Well thank you for letting me see what a Human looks like. I too must get going with my things of the day."

"Here, It's what I used to look like." I said while handing the Vixen a photo of me and Judith just before I left for this planet.

"Hey Mom, I just want-" I heard come from the door. I instinctively ripped off the shit that was halfway on, drew my Pistol while turning on the laser, and took one knee. Through the micro red dot I could see another fox raising his hands in the air. I only have one visual eye, remember.

"Down on the Gr-" My outburst was interrupted mid sentence by a radiation induced coughing fit. Nevertheless, I continued to aim at the Fox at the door… Until my visual eye started going out of alignment, leaving me with just radar to see. The problem with the radar was it only gave me an idea of where things were; It was only designed for depth perception.

"Nicolas, don't you _dare_ call that rabbit, this is a nice young man." I heard Miss Wilde hiss from by the door, I guess the fox had pulled out a phone without me seeing. After a few seconds of harsh whispering, I felt a fox's paw on my shoulder.

"Hey, budd-" The fox had moved within inches of me. His talking caused an involuntary punch at the direction of the voice. "OW, what the hell was that for!?" The fox yelled from the floor.

I only started mumbling profanities while I attempted to reboot my eye. Alex had always done that since he made the eyes, I only had a few hints of how they really worked. "Now Mister Eagle keeper, I know my son isn't the mammal you want to see right now, but punching him in the gut isn't very nice."

I didn't bother responding due to my focusing on my eye, although I began to take a few steps backward, ending in my feet catching on something and me falling on my ass. "Just, stay away from me." I said in a panicky voice.

"honey, what's wrong?" The Vixen asked with worry.

"This is eagle keeper, requesting immediate backup. I can't see Alex!" I shouted into the radio.

"Shit, Three mikes out… Just don't die man." Alex replied with a ruffling noise sounded in the background.

"Uh-oh. Mom, I think we need to leave." I heard Miss Wilde's son say from across the room. "OW, okay, we won't leave."

"Honey, why can't you see? Did something happen to the camera?"

"Just, stay away from me, okay? Once Viper five fixes my eye, I won't be so edgy… When I can't see, I'm helpless."

"Hey, Ar-are you Elliot?"

"Who's asking?"

"Nick Wilde... Your friend"

"Sorry, I don't know a Nick, must be the wrong alien."

"Dammit man, I know it's you."

I then heard a loud crash, followed by an electric charge. "GET ON THE FUCKING FLOOR!" Alex yelled. I then heard the sound of choking.

"The Vixen's blue, The Todd might be green but I'm not sure yet."

"Copy." He replied before releasing one of the foxes from his robotic grip. "You, If you move more than an Inch, I will cut your head off and take a shit down the hole, Kapeesh?"

"Y-you go-got it pal." Nick replied with terror.

A few seconds later, Alex was working on my eyes, attempting to reboot the camera system without needing to pulled the eye out of the socket.

"Are you what a normal human looks like?" I heard Miss Wilde asked without a hint of fear.

"Eagle keeper?" Alex asked in a whisper, to which I nodded. "No, I'm not what a normal human looks like. My limbs were torn off by some crazy astral being by the name of Achmetha, or Zofia by her true name. At the time, she had mimicked my appearance and brainwashed me with one objective, Kill Ell… Eagle keeper. In my delusions, I ended up detonating a neutron bomb five hundred meters over where Bunnyburrow used to be."

"Why the height?" She asked in response.

"It's the best height to ignite civilian buildings, equating in more civilians being burnt alive and killed overall. That's why the forests ignited in the surrounding area."

"Y-You just admitted genocide in front of a police officer." Nick said hesitantly.

"Yeah, what of it? I was _brainwashed…_ Besides _,_ no one stands a chance to capture us, and all we want to do is live our lives in peace." He replied. "Okay, look to the right, then left, then up, and finally down. That should reset the eye."

His command did indeed reset my camera eye, restoring my vision. Now that the scene had been quite disrupted, I quickly grabbed my clothing and put it on in preparation for departure. "Miss Wilde, I'm sorry for your door, this should more than cover it." I said while handing her about a thousand in cash. Before she came out of her stupor, Alex and I were out the door and gone into the wind. He took the jet back home, and I activated the holographic projector on my way to the park.

When I arrived, Mammals of all kinds had gathered around the public piano I used, some even had picnic baskets and blankets. It took a fair amount of pushing, but I eventually made it to the piano I spent my days sitting at; The poor instrument had been neglected for who knows how long in the weather. Most of the glossy black paint peeled off when I found it, and the thing was horribly out of tune. I repainted the vertical piano and wrapped a tarp around it every night when I left, keeping it in fair condition. While the piano sounded nice after it was tuned, it still paled in comparison to my old Super grand piano. While the name implied a gigantic piano, it was really an advanced hybrid electric piano.

"Hey, old fart, get outta the way, the guy could show up any minute." One of the audience members hissed.

I craned my head back and replied with a sly smile. "I am that guy." I was simultaneously undoing the bungee straps on the blue tarp that was wrapped around. "I hope you lovely Mammals know you'll be able to hear me anywhere in the park due to this place's mystical sound reverberation." I said while folding the tarp up neatly, then setting it under the piano bench I had pulled out. The second I lifted the key cover, everything went dead silent. I was quite confused at the gathering of animals around me. Usually I'd get two or three at a time watching me, but there were dozens watching intently.

 **(** **Patrik Pietschmann: The Island)**

"Shall we start with something a bit… heroic." I said while resting my hands on the keyboard.

* * *

-=3rd person Pov=-

Sounds of piano resonated all throughout the forested park, and every single inch of the mystical place was filled with the melody of Elliot Crawford. If you were one foot off the grass of the park, you couldn't hear it, but one foot within the boundaries, and it sounded like you were right next to the piano. This was a place where all animals of all walks of life could come and listen to the sounds of an expertly played instrument, however out of all the animals in the park, one in particular enjoyed the sounds of piano more than any other. For she was without a home, without parents, and without her sight. Like Elliot, her retinas were fried in the explosion of the neutron blast that claimed the lives of her parents. This small girl was Ella Lorenza.

Ella had been homeless for over a year now, and her fur was far from the fluffy and soft snow color that it used to be. She found comfort in sleeping in the park, and the night guard always pretended that he didn't notice she was there, often times bringing her food. Today, She wondered where the lovely piano music disappeared to, why didn't she wake up to the sound of a piano being played. Whoever it was that played the instrument had always shown up right before mammals started milling about in their daily duties. But today he was many hours late. This peaked the small arctic kit's interest, so she grabbed her feeling stick, and started stumbling in the direction of the piano that just started playing.

The only problem was the music seemed to be emanating from the forest itself, making it very hard to judge where the sound was actually coming from, however, the sound of a rowdy mammal gave her a good idea as the where the piano was. She began walking in the direction of where the loud hoot had come from, about fifty yards away by Ella's guess. By the time she reached the source of the music, a round of clapping had rang throughout her ears, signaling that the song had ended, but she knew that would be just the first of many to be played. When Ella reached the crowd of Mammals, they all absentmindedly avoided the small fox, that is until she ran into the piano.

"Hey, watch where you're going. This is a fragile instrument." She heard a male voice say.

"S-Sorry sir, I just wanted to see why the music player wasn't here." She said while maneuvering around the key side of the shiny black piano.

"Hold on there youngin'. Can't you see?"

"N-No sir." She replied.

"Boo, get outta the way, _FOX."_ Someone from the crowd hissed. She then heard the sound of wood creaking, signaling that the piano player stood up. A few seconds and murmurs later, a blood curdling scream rang throughout the forest.

"Y-you broke my paw!"

"If you _EVER_ Boo a blind and homeless child again, I will find and kill you. _Are. we. clear._ " She heard the male voice from earlier say.

"Y-yes." The other male voice whimpered back. She then heard the sound of padding in her direction, followed by the creaking of wood again.

"Sorry about that youngin'. Some people don't have common respect these days."

"Oh, so you broke his paw?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yes, where I'm from, disrespecting a child like that could end you up in far worse shape than a broken han-paw."

"Oh, okay." She replied in a more chipper tone.

"Would you like to listen Miss..."

"Ella, sir."

"Well miss Ella, would you like to listen? And please, call me Jeff." _Dammit. What the hell kind of name is Jeff._

"I'd like that mister Jeff." She replied with a smile. It had been a long time anyone had stood up for Ella, and while the way Jeff did it was a bit further that she would've wanted. It was still far better than no one sticking up for her at all. The next few hours were spent in complete silence, save for the piano, sounds of coins and paper money dropping into a plastic bucket, and clapping at the end of the songs. As the day waned into evening, most of the crowd dissipated into the rest of the expansive park. There were however, a few food vendors that had stationed up a few yards away from the piano player in an attempt to rally more business, which Elliot had taken note of.

"Miss Ella, would you happen to be hungry?"

"YES!- I-I mean yes mister Jeff."

"What would you like to eat?" Eliot asked while standing up from the piano bench.

"Anything with meat, and I mean ANYTHING." She replied.

"Very well, I will be back in a minute or two." He said while padding off down the paved path. Elliot walked up to one of the food carts, and decided on two simple hot dogs. "How much will it be?" He asked.

"Oh free of charge, you're the reason I'm still in business." The cart manager replied.

"Very well… Have a nice day sir." Elliot replied while stuffing a hundred into the tip jar.

"SIR! This is a hundred dollar bill, I can't just take it." The cart manager protested.

"Better be careful, I might make it one-fifty." Elliot happily replied from the piano. "Here you are miss Ella, one hot dog."

The small malnourished fox downed the meal in about fifteen seconds flat. "That was really good, thank you Mister Jeff." Ella blurted out in thankfulness.

"Are you still hungry?"

"… No mister Jeff."

"Are you sure?" Elliot asked while waving the other hot dog in front of Ella's nose.

"Yes mister Jeff." She corrected while sniffing wildly.

"Here you go then, I'm going to return to my playing." He replied while playing a classic song that almost everyone In Zootopia knew.

 **(Zootopia main theme: Anipiano)**

* * *

-=Alice Wilde Pov=-

"Oh would you two stop it. I'm not going to file a police report and that's the end of it." I said firmly. "He paid me back five times the amount needed to fix my door."

"Mom, just-"

"Nicolas Piberius Wilde, If you just me one more time, I swear." I hissed, causing his ears to pin on his head as well as his Rabbit friend's ears to lay back. "Now, I've come here to listen to the mammal that plays the Piano, not listen to you two yapping at me about an intruder that wasn't there."

"But Mom-"

"But nothing!" I shouted at my son. "You can either join me in good company, or leave in a sour mood. But I will tell you this, I know you both like the song he's playing." I said from one step inside the park boundaries.

"I don't hear anything." The rabbit replied.

"Take a step in the magical forest and you will my dear." I said while gesturing right next to me.

"Oh I don't know ab- What the hell?" She said in astonishment. The rabbit proceeded to take several steps in and out of the park boundary. "Nick, this is-is weird."

"Seriously, have you two gone off the rail-" My son stopped mid sentence once he stepped within the park boundary.

"Come along, you'll never find him unless you know where to look." I said while walking towards where I knew the restored piano sat.

"How does this work, it's like-like-"

"Magic? Yes this place I know for its mystical properties. How this piano player knew that that his specific spot would reverberate throughout the entire park, I do not know. The piano used to sit just at the edge of the entrance, but he moved it to where it now rests… There is an old story that has been passed down in our family for generations, it goes something like this.

A long time ago when this galaxy did not have life in it, there was one being that lived alone at the center of the Galaxy. She wanted a companion, so she created a daughter and a Race of intelligent life for her to protect. The daughter did her job well, and it allowed little time for them to be together. So, she created another species of intelligent life and another daughter to protect her."

"Mom, I know this story. Someone told it to me years ago, but it was a bit different."

"Really, this story is a closely guarded Wilde secret. It was told to us by an ancient alien that went by the name-"

"The galactic tracker?"

"Yes, who told you this story?" I demanded with enthusiasm.

"An old friend. Except he gave me a bit more on the details."

"Well, please enlighten me." I said while looking back at my son.

"The lonely being, her name was Zofia, the scout of the galaxy. She created four daughters and four peoples to inhabit four planets. They're creation order was as follows. The Thargoids from the planet Miacke, protected by Dahlia, the first of the Guardians. The Humans of Terra, protected by Aleksandra, the Second Guardian. Us, The people of Raxxla who are protected by the one and only Maroth, the third Guardian created. Finally, the only extinct Race in the Galaxy thanks to the people of Terra."

"SEE NICK, the Humans are all horrible Mammals." The rabbit interjected.

"So much rage you have Miss Hopps. Why do you choose to hate when you can choose to move on and forgive. I hear it makes you live longer." A male voice that was all too familiar said from the piano that was now in view. When the Wolf turned his head, I instantly knew who it was. The piano player was the one who I met earlier today. "But Nicolas, please continue your story of the four species of the galaxy. I find It intriguing."

When I Looked back to my son, his ears were pinned to his head and he was looking at the Human in disguise with Murderous eyes.

"I'm good." He replied.

"Well, how about I finish it then. Let's kick up the beat, shall we" Elliot said as he stopped mid song in favor for a faster beat one.

* * *

-=3rd Pov=-

 **(Unity: Danny Rayel)**

The fourth and final race to be created in the galaxy was named the Lunovian people by Zofia. They were to be the protectors and keepers of the galaxy; Genetically superior to every other species in the Galaxy, they were faster, stronger, and smarter than you or I. However, because they were created almost a two-thousand years after the Terran's, when they came into contact with the Lunovians, they had only iron age equipment. But being the genocidal race they are. The Terran's slaughtered the Lunovian people out of fear for what they would become. Despite both the Lunovian Guardian Claramond, and the Terran Guardian Aleksandra's best efforts. The Lunovian people were all but decimated. Currently just a few hundred Lunovians still survive to this day on a planet called a transition world. Oh, and the reason this park reverberates sound so well is because the planet Raxxla is a gateway to other dimensions. Those sightings of ghosts, they're real. Just people vibrating at a different frequency than us.

So, Have any questions Miss Wilde?" Elliot asked while staring directly into the Vixen's eyes, continuing to play the piano without missing a beat.

"I have one" Judy asked while raising her hand. "Where did you get all this information?" She asked with squinting suspicion.

"Excellent question. You see, over the past year, most of my memories have disappeared, but hearing that story brought so many back, you wouldn't believe it." Elliot said while taking his hands off the key's, only to have the piano keep playing. He then stood up off from the Piano bench and cracked his neck with his hands. "I… am the Galactic Tracker, and there is _nothing_ you can do to stop me." He said while disabling the holographic projector.

* * *

 **Authors note: Remember to leave feedback with writing tips. Yep, I did it twice.**


	3. Chapter 3: Assault On Prism Security

_Chapter Three: Assault On Prism Security_

 _To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace._

* * *

-=Present time=-

" _*GASSSSSSPPP*_ Skatά, that was the biggest memory flash in a while." I mumbled while sitting in the pitch dark of Ella's room. Pitch black didn't really matter to me due to the camera in my face detecting IR and ultraviolet light, allowing me to see in " _Lightless"_ Environments.

"Daaaaddddyyyyy, I was sleeping." Ella whined from in my lap, having been thrown from my chest.

"Sorry pumkin, I have something very important to do today." I cooed while slipping out of bed, tucking Ella in shortly after.

Me reason for leaving when I woke up wasn't because of the dream. I needed to tell Alex the new plan involving both the FNS Artemis and the Aurora Space Corps, Black Viper Five; Why Alex had his call sign the same thing as his ship, I have no idea. The fact that he has a ship on Lubrilia is the thing that really matters. We could destroy our home, then move into his jet-black Imperial Cutter at a later date. It's far nicer inside than my ship ever was, being designed as a luxury super-heavy fighter and all. In my rush to wake Alex up, I didn't bother knocking on his door before I walked in.

"Aww, are you seriously doing that?" I asked while shielding my eyes.

"OH definitely. . . Ass. I can't get the stupid servo on my inner thigh to trigger… I'm just gonna reboot the whole leg and see if that fixes it."

"Don't you ever sleep?"

"Naww, maybe once a week, but ever since _this_ happened, I don't need to sleep very much. Anything I can help you with?"

"Yeah, I had an idea on how I would be more useful on the Assault tomorrow." I said while un-shielding my eyes, not that I really cared Alex was naked.

"Well, let's hear it then." He said while sitting limp from the system reboot on his limbs.

"We'll use _This,_ the FNS Artemis for the assault. Afterwards we can just dump it on the mars and move into your Cutter. What da-ya think?"

"I think it's absolutely insane-" This caused my spirits to lower, I really thought he'd like the plan. "I mean, how am I supposed to get more kills when you're up here with _BUS_ sized beam lasers, and I'm down there with the Dubstep gun."

"It's not a Dubstep gun for fuck sake. It's a Long Range Acoustic Device use-"

"That just happens to sound like it's playing Dubstep." He interjected.

"Ugh, You're impossible sometimes. It uses Infrasonic and Ultrasonic frequencies to cause vision loss, and Normal sound waves for Breaking their ear drums."

"Yeah, Dubstep gun." He replied with a smirk.

" _Whatever._ So, are you down with the my plan?"

"They won't stand much of a chance, so Yeah." He answered while standing up and testing his limbs full range of motion. Upon completion of normal movements, Alex started testing all of his onboard weaponry; First, he deployed the Black, Nano-blades from his forearms and swung then around a few times. He then deployed the graphite black 500 S&W pistols housed in each of his thighs. After doing one of those cowboy flip things, which I couldn't ever figure out, Alex holstered the pistols and moved onto his Eyes. "Can you punch my eyes please?"

"Yeah, I'm not breaking my hand on those stupid glasses that come out of your face."

"Aww, come on." He jokingly pleaded while activating Impact resistant glasses embedded into his skull; The glasses were a photochromic lens with an integrated Heads up display. I've never seen what the display looked like due to the glasses being un-removeable, but Alex said they were ' _Pretty dope'_ In his words. I admit they look cool when they pop out of the small metal seam in his temples, wrapping over his entire eye socket like the best fitting safety glasses out there. "I think I'll test the jump assist outside." He said while putting on the special combat pants he made. The _Pants_ were really Nitinol composite that looked like a Kryptek camouflage chastity belt. Of course I always played that joke up whenever I could. Above that, He wore a plate carrier made out of the same material, a sleeveless green shirt and a baseball cap of dark blue hue.

Our home was at the top of the Cliffside waterfall, just a few meters from an old and abandoned mental hospital. The FNS Artemis was actually _in_ the waterfall, just before where the water crests the edge, and due to the ship being over five-hundred feet long, our exit was upstream on the riverbank, allowing discreet entrance and exit.

"I'm going to go for the top." Alex said while standing at the entrance of the mental hospital, which only had access via bridge directly over the rapid water. With one big ass jump, and an assist from the compressed air thrusters within his robotic feet/shoes combo, he landed at the top of the twelve story building. "Dude, you should totally fly up here and see the night sky, It's breathtaking!" He shouted down at me.

"I'll take your word for it... Marian!" I shouted back

"It looks _Nothing_ like that!" Alex screeched while dropping from the roof, landing with a few cracks in the asphalt. The second he stood up, I slapped him in the crotch.

"Sure it doesn't Marian."

"You know I can't wear normal pants, why do you have to make a big deal out of it?"

"I suppose I don't if it really offends you." I replied while looking to him as we walked along the bridge.

"Well, it kinda does. I've tried to make other clothes, but unless they're canvas or leather, my legs just tear right through the fabric."

"Sorry, I always just took it as a way to get a joke in at you… How about this for repayment? I'm going to leave in a few to go play the piano one last time, would you like to come and listen?" I asked while walking up the grassy riverbank, which had the reflection of both a full moon, and pre-dawn sunlight.

"Won't I be spotted?" He asked with confusion.

"I'll leave the jet in the clearing just in case, and you can use my holographic projector."

"And how will you stay concealed?"

"The old fashion way, A hoodie, hat, and mask."

"Okay, but are we bringing Ella too?"

"Yep, there's someone she needs to meet after we're done at the park."

Once I had suited Alex up with all the tracking sensors and fed Ella breakfast, we departed in the YF-185 jet. I was in the pilot's seat, Alex in the copilot's seat and Ella in his lap. The absolute second we took off, Ell climbed to my seat through the shared cockpit.

"Hahaha, it seems she likes you a bit more." Alex snickered though the intercom.

"Of course I do Uncle Alex, Elliot's my daddy." Ella chirped back while sticking her head over my shoulder to look at Alex; I had custom built a flight helmet for Ella's head, even creating little divots in the padding for her ears. Although it was disabled, the helmet was a full functioning gunner's helmet with head-track systems built in. She could easily be my Copilot when the time came, allowing Alex to be in his own ship, an imperial fighter. The YF-185 was far superior to Alex's fighter in every way, except his ship had a shield and mine didn't.

"Daddy, can we get closer to the buildings?" Ella asked while pointing to our left.

"Only if you promise to hold on." I said while flipping up the Polycarbonate screen on my helmet so I could see the white ball of fluff without a heads up display in the way.

"Yes, Sir." Ella said seriously, just before wrapping her little paws around my flight harness.

"You making a soldier up there Eagle keeper?"

"You know it." I replied with a smile, simultaneously flicking the hydraulic yoke to the left, sending us into a fifty degree bank directly towards the spiraling skyscrapers of Zootopia. Once we were about a hundred meters out, I prepared Ella for a high G maneuver, having her sit upright, clench her gut, and * _hic*_ in air. Once she had It right, I pulled hard back and to the left on the yoke while pressing the left rudder pedal, sending us into a direction reversing airbrake called an Inverted Cobra maneuver. Although five G's was a walk in the park for me, Alex had a hard time with it, and Ella ending up blacking out in about five seconds.

The Aircraft had long since passed the skyscrapers due to me showing Ella what to do, and that is the reason for my maneuver. It would turn us toward the skyscrapers, and slow us down for VTOL flight. The manuver had been explained to me like this. " _Picture doing a High-yo-yo, but on the positive G section, you pull so hard on the stick that it makes the aircraft flatten in it's flight path. It should look like you're drifting around the turn."_

I knew Ella would wake up in a moment or two, so I flipped into VTOL mode, and started drifting above the city streets. The dark and empty streets below were an enigma I had never understood. I had always heard the expression, the city never sleeps at night, this city sure seemed to. Par for an occasional car or pedestrian, the entirety of the streets were desolate, and the Skyscrapers had no light emitting from them, Although the Moon glistened off the buildings and into the cockpit nicely.

Ella let out a long and displeased grumble. "Why did you have to do that?" She asked while balling up between my left leg and the instrument panel next to me. Something I had taught Ella the very first time she entered the YF-185 was not to touch _ANYTHING_ unless I said it was okay. At first, I was worried the second she neared an instrument panel some limb of hers would shoot out and hit something like the fuel pumps, but somehow she could move every which way and miss everything. It was for that reason I wasn't mad that she climbed from Alex's seat to mine.

"Sorry Pumpkin, I forgot how much strain that maneuver puts on the body." I said while stroking her ears with my throttle hand. (The left one) "but If you'd like to see the building's, we're right next to them, I even put us in a hover." Almost instantly, her little nose poked above the cockpit glass. I could see her slitted Amber eyes glistening with interest from the reflection of the glass.

"Eagle keeper, be advised, multiple stealth signatures closing in fast. By the looks of the signature sizes, I'd say it was a bird, but birds don't move at mach 1.5, Over."

"Copy Viper five… Ella, you need to go back with Uncle Alex." I said in a serious, yet gentle tone. She quickly scampered over me on all fours, and Alex confirmed he had her strapped in, meaning he was hugging her.

With a flick of my thumb, and a push of my hand, the jet was pushed forward by dual F135-PW-100 engines, producing upwards of ninety-six thousand pounds of combined thrust; Both engines had been salvaged from wreckage's of Prism Security jets, but we had done a few upgrades that gave us a ten percent thrust difference per engine… we had two engines. All that thrust housed in an aircraft that only weighed fifty thousand pounds wet equated on one fast ride.

I had forgotten to vector the thrust forward when I slammed the throttle up, which sent up rocketing upward instead of forward at an incredible rate. "Oxygen on!" I yelled through the cockpit. This told the computer to seal the cabin and pressurize it with oxygen so we wouldn't need to wear a mask; We still had the masks in the event of a canopy breach. With another flip of a switch, the downward thrust vectored to the rear of the craft, propelling us forward. I didn't need to worry about the skyscrapers anymore because we had been rocketed almost a thousand feet above them by the time I switched to CTOL flight. I didn't want to deploy the weaponry just yet, the aircraft might be just passing by after all.

"WARNING… radar lock." Sounded throughout the cabin.

"How the hell are they seeing us!?" Alex asked in a panic.

"Hell if I know, we're cloaked and the thermal signature is minimum." I replied while looking at the ship's status. "Don't worry, we're outrunning the AMRRAM's." I said with a collected vibrato. The standard missile avoidance procedure for the YF-185 was to speed up and outrun everything. While the AMRRAM flew at mach four, we were still accelerating at mach seven. I decided to do one massive high-loop over an area of a dozen or so nautical miles. This would hopefully line the enemy craft up perpendicular to mine. The second I started my loop, the four bird sized radar signatures started diverting from their formerly linear flight path.

"Viper five, did you touch something back there that would give them our location?"

"What do you take me f… oops."

"OOPS WHAT!?" I yelled while pulling us into a high yo-yo.

"I turned on the wing beacon." He answered nervously.

"YOU... IMBECILE!" I shouted. The wing beacon was something we installed that would allow pinpoint location in case of an emergency, like being shot down. The downside was with the strength of the transmitter preventing you from scrambling the frequency.

"It's off now, so at least we have that." Alex stated with cautionary words.

"Oh, and wha-d-ya-know, they're bugging out now." I said while lining up the first of the two wings of fighters in my sights. Both wings of jets had gone in different directions, presumably in an attempt to save at least one fighter wing.

The two _stealth_ jets to my twelve had full afterburner engaged, but it mattered not. Even without the shallow dive I was in, they stood no chance to outrun me. I deployed the two cannon modules on each side of the cockpit, and looked at the one of the green squares on my display. This targeted the right jet with pinpoint accuracy, and with a squeeze of the trigger, dozens of high explosive twenty millimeter rounds ripped through the first jet, sending it into a spontaneous fireball from striking the fuel tanks. The second jet immediately rolled ninety degrees to the left, and pulled hard on the stick, causing an overshoot on my part. I began a lag displacement roll to reposition myself behind the enemy jet; To do this, I pulled up and rolled to the right, causing an almost right-handed corkscrew, only instead of spiraling over and over again, I stopped at one half rotation. This put me right behind the jet I identified as what they called an F-35 lightning II. With one more squeeze of the trigger, the sound of almost completely silent 20mm Gatling cannons sounded off; The reason for them being almost silent was in part to both us going supersonic, and the Jets' Sound dampening field. This F-35 pilot was a bit more lucky than the last, only having a blown off wing, which allowed him to eject.

"Eagle keeper, why aren't we letting them go?" Alex asked while I veered toward the other wing of jets, which had reached almost twenty nautical miles away from us.

"Prism's already going to be on high alert, no reason to give us more targets tomorrow." I replied while rapidly closing on the duo of enemy jets. I had gained about three thousand feet of elevation on them, and almost six times the speed. Due to the inability to see the jets in time for a cannon shot, I toggled over to our custom made **A** dvanced **L** ong **R** ange **A** ir to **A** ir **M** issile, or ALRAAM for short. Each of the six missiles loaded within the YF-185 flew at over mach five, and had five smaller cluster rockets to take out multiple targets with one shot.

"Ella-1 Away." I said once I fired the missile.

"What?" Alex replied.

"Ya-know, cuz' Ella's a Fox."

"OH, I get it!" She shouted.

"See, Ella got it." Although the Missile was locked onto the two Jets in front of me, I almost instantly passed the flying warhead, followed by passing the other two Jets, which I had identified as the more advanced F-22 Raptor. I began a high yo-yo to regain my positioning on the two oblivious jets if the ALRAAM didn't find its' mark. Luckily it did, splitting into five smaller munitions just a few dozen meters behind the two F-22's. Three or the small warhead collided with the right craft at the exhaust, mid section, and cockpit, in that order. The other two cluster warheads directed towards the left fighter, striking it In the mid section and the wing, causing a Supersonic disintegration of the craft; Even if the pilot inside ejected, which I didn't see happen, his arms and legs could be ripped clear off from the speed of the wind facing him.

"Wow, do you think I could do that one day, Daddy?" Ella asked while pressing her tiny paws up to the glass for a better view of the two fireballs plummeting to the ground.

"Pumpkin… I study politics and war that my children have the liberty to study Technology for a better future. I do what I do so that you can live a life without the worry of war. But if war should find you, I will have prepared you the best of my ability."

"… What?" She asked with total confusion.

"Yes darling, with enough practice, you could do that too. I just don't want you to _need_ to do that."

"Ooohhhhhhh."

Both wings of aircraft had been shot down far enough from Zootopia not to warrant caution. With that in mind, I had already reached the forested park to the south west of Precinct one. I was hovering at about three thousand feet, looking down at the ground with an advanced thermal camera to see if anyone was close enough to see the Fighter landing; They wouldn't _see_ it per-say, they would notice the massive blast of jet wash blowing them across the park.

"You see anything Alex?"

"Naa' I think we're good." He answered.

I began the descent to the grass directly below us at a careful pace. Too fast and the wings would receive lift, too slow and it would take hours to reach the ground. Once we touched down, I began the fifteen minute wait with the Q.R.F still active should police show up. While police never came, I spotted a few ghostly figures wandering through the forest.

"Look's like we have an interdimensional audience today. You seeing the ghosts?"

"I thought they were just my eyes playing tricks." Alex replied.

"Nope, it only happens once in awhile, caused by some lunar/solar cycle stuff. When I start playing the piano over there, every subsequent dimension should be able to hear it. Hence, Raxxla, or gateway if you will."

"Wait, THAT'S what Raxxla means!?"

"Hell if I know, I thought It sounded cool to say, but I wasn't joking about all the dimensions hearing me. Just watch the ghosts when I start playing." I said while flipping the gray hoodie over my head, followed by climbing down the ladder of the uncloaked jet. When I reached the piano, I almost had a heart attack. Sitting on the bench was an elderly Red fox, sleeping.

"Uhh, Ma'am?" I asked in a high pitch voice while lightly poking her.

"Oh, I'm not sleeping. Just waiting for a Mammal to show up." The elderly Fox replied.

"Okay… Do you mind if I play?" I asked while gesturing to the piano, which had been unwrapped from the tarp I put there. I guess the Vixen didn't hear the Jet landing, not an astonishing feat.

"No, not at all." She replied while scooting over on the bench; This would only leave me with the upper two thirds to press. I began strumming a few chords as quietly as I could so we could keep talking.

"Who ya' looking for?"

"Someone that I haven't seen in years I'm afraid. He told me a great story here, and I was hoping to hear the full story… But I'm not sure how much longer I can wait around all day." She replied glumly.

"Would that story teller happen to be a human? Because I remember something happening with one of those vile creatures in this very spot." I said while looking at the elderly Vixen's ears, which started twitching from annoyance.

"They're not vile. HE WAS A-" She hissed while shooting up to meet my gaze.

"It has been a while... hasn't it." I said just before the Vixen gave me a hug. Her squeezing caused an abrupt halt in my music.

"Where did you go!?" She interrogated.

"Well, Miss Wilde. I had to take care of someone." The instant I said that, her ears pinned to her head. "OH, no, no-no, not like that. I met someone that needed my care. I was actually going to find you and ask a favor about that."

"After all that money you sent me! I owe more than _A_ favor." Miss Wilde exclaimed just before Alex and Ella rounded the piano that was obstructing our view.

"Meet Ella Crawford… My daughter."

"Hello." Ella blurted out while hopping into my lap.

Miss Wilde slightly gaped her mouth and drew in a long gasp. "You're beautiful."

"Thanks." She replied with a smug smile.

"Your eyes, I-I've never seen them slant like that before."

"Yeah, Ella was blinded from the Baal-hermon explosion. I cloned her some new eyes, but they had to be from a fox's genes on my homeworld."

"Well, they only add to her already exquisite physique." Miss Wilde said, causing another blush from Ella, followed by her looking away.

"Don't spoil her now, that's my job." I said while scratching under Ella's chin, which earned a high to low pitch animalistic whine in return. Miss Wilde started staring with confusion at my gesture, eventually reaching up to her chin.

"You want a scratch too? It feels really good according to Ella."

"Ehh, I think I-"

"No!" Ella squawked out. "You _NEED_ to try it." She said while forcing my hand from her chin and towards Miss Wilde's.

"It's really not that weird if you don't make it." I added. The entire time, Alex was staring at all the ghostly figures wandering around the forested park.

"Elliot, sorry to interrupt, but I think one of the ghosts can see us." He said while pointing to a wolf that had a perplexed stare.

"Probably, it's not a one way door ya-know." I said while standing up with Ella in my arms. Just a few feet away stood a glowing wolf, who backed away when I approached. "Whoa, I'm not a ghost mate. Real person, different dimension." I said, highly doubting the words actually reaching the Wolf.

"Honey, it's talking to me." The wolf replied while looking over his shoulder.

"Well shít, they can hear me. Hi mister wolf, I'm from universe Seven-eight-two-five, I know you won't be able to know which one you're in, but I figured I'd tell you anyway."

"I think I'm going insane." The wolf muttered to himself.

"NO, no… You're not going insane. The planet we're on has special properties, and with the correct tools, I could actually go to where you are. Here, I can prove it." I said while beckoning him to follow me. "Can you see a piano right here?" I asked while awkwardly gesturing to the shiny, black piano.

"Uhh, no." He replied.

"Well, tell me if you can hear this." I said just before going up the note scale, then back down.

"Egan, Did you just hear a Piano?" I heard from off in the distance.

"Yeah, come and see this." He replied while looking over his shoulder. Shortly after, another wolf phased into view. "He says he's from another universe."

"Well, universe is kinda a loose term. You could say dimension, universe, alternate reality, they all mean the same thing." I said while facing away from the piano, but still sitting on the bench. I briefly glanced to my right, and saw all three of my company staring in awe. "Oh don't give me that look you guys, it's only a little bit weird they look like ghosts." I said without a response.

"We look like ghosts to you?" The female wolf asked.

"Yep, there's actually thousands of universe's out there to my knowledge. If you see more ghosts, they'll most likely be from a different universe than myself." I said while flipping the hoodie off my head, which caused the two wolves from an alternate universe to step back in fear.

"W-What are you?" The male wolf asked in fear.

"Huh… OH, don't be scared. I'm an alien… A really deformed one at least. I got super bad burns, and my eyes failed me, so my friend jury rigged me these. But moving on, what-cha' up to in life? I'm going to war tomorrow."

"… I just got back from my third tour of duty." The male replied. I nodded silently for a few seconds before replying.

"So your universe has war on this planet. This one didn't until I showed up… then it went to shit. . . Look, I'm going to play the piano now, you should be able to hear it within the entire park, or whatever it is there. Hope you like it." I said while whipping around to face the keys. "Oh, and I'm just winging it." I said with a smile.

 **(GoPro Music: Insane Piano Improv)**

"Daaaaaddddyyyyy, why do you have to make it spooky." Ella whined as she bounded towards me on all fours, eventually curling into a ball right next to my left side.

"I'm just making it up Pumpkin, no particular reason… So, what's your rank?" I asked the wolf who was just a few feet behind me.

"Huh, are you talking to me?" The ghost wolf asked.

"No, I'm asking the dozens of other ghost wolves... If it helps, I was a Fleet Admiral according to my friend."

"What do you mean according to your friend? Oh, and staff Sergeant."

"I have retrograde amnesia, my memories only come back in parts and whenever they please." I replied.

"Ahh okay. I can't really see the detail of your deformation, but it looks like radiation burns to me." The wolf said while approaching Ella and I.

"That would be correct my intradimensional friend. I tried to contain that guys Neutron bomb with what amounts to pixie dust." I said while nodding my head towards Alex, who dropped his head in shame.

"I don't see anything over there."

"Hmm, maybe it's just us then. Can you see my daughter?"

"You mean the fox to your right?"

"That's my left, but yeah." I replied. "How you liking my musical presentation so far?"

"It's nice." The female wolf blurted before the male had a chance to answer.

* * *

-=3rd Pov=-

It wasn't just the two visible wolves from the unknown universe that noticed the music. All throughout the thousands of parallel universes, Mammals were listening to the sound of the improvised song. Although no other human besides Alex and Elliot were on the planet in any universe, there were still millions of beings that heard the melody.

"Dude, you gotta see this." Alex said while pointing to the open field where the YF-185 rested.

"Little bit busy here." Elliot replied.

"Fine, fine. I can see this squad moving through the forest, hella' confused by the looks of it… Aww crap, some dude just popped out of a spider hole, he's about to waste these idiots. . . OOOHHH, Headshot, bonus points to the machine gunner." Alex narrated. There was indeed a war going on in one of the universes, a Tiger had popped out of a spider hole with a MMG, ' _wasting'_ the enemy squad with a few controlled bursts. The world of Raxxla was quite the mystical place, wars, unending peace, more war, more unending peace… pretty much just those two. BUT STILL MYSTICAL DAMMIT. Events like this were rare, it wasn't so rare to see maybe one or two ghosts in the forest, but this many was something that would only happen once or twice every few decades.

As the night gave way to early morning, the only two ghosts left were the first wolves, still chatting away with Elliot. He had tried to determine which universe they came from, although without anymore information than " _We colonized the moon."_ Elliot couldn't figure it out.

"Will we see each other again?" The male wolf asked.

"Tha'is a good question. Without knowing when our universes will vibrate in parallel, it could happen tomorrow or in a hundred years. So this is goodbye my friend." Elliot said while holding Ella like an infant, lightly scratching her stomach.

"Too bad, you think I'll see another one of you humans in my lifetime?"

"You could, but it's unlikely. My race and one other has developed faster than light travel, and they're the closer ones. Just remember, we've found thousands of inhabitable worlds, and the Thargoids know they were created first. So don't worry about being invaded… for the most part. Well, looks like our time's up." Elliot said while noticing the flicker of the glowing wolf.

"Yeah… Pleasure meeting you Admiral." The wolf said while formally saluting Elliot, who followed suit, saluting them with one hand still supporting Ella. Just a few seconds later, and the two faded into the pre-dawn light.

"Miss Wilde, may I have a moment to talk with you alone?" Elliot asked while walking to the elderly vixen, who had seated herself on the dew covered grass.

"Of course, I never did get your name?"

"Really? I swear I told you." Elliot said while placing Ella on the piano bench.

"Nope."

"Oh, it's Elliot." He said while moseying towards the YF-185 with Miss Wilde. Elliot told her to cling onto his harness while he climbed up to the wing of the stealth jet, and once they were seated on one of the bulges made by the two jet engine's, Elliot began to talk in a hushed voice.

"We're going to assault the Prism R&D lab tomorrow, and I'm asking you to protect Ella until we come back… If we come back." He said solemnly while staring at his feet.

"Don't you be talking like that." Miss Wilde chastened with a smack upside the head. "You battled those thousands of troops a few years ago and were fine, this won't be hardly anything compared to that."

"It's not me that I'm worried about." He replied while glancing at Ella, who had started playing simple songs on the piano. "I'm dying Alice. If I don't get something they stole from me years ago, I'll be unable to walk within the next month."

"I'll protect her with my life. You have my word." Miss Wilde replied while resting one of her small paws on Elliot's thighs.

"Thank you." He mumbled a few seconds before pulling her into a drawn out hug. Once Elliot broke contact with Miss Wilde, he pulled out his suppressed handgun.

"Dear, you're not the only one with one of those." She replied while pulling out a silver revolver.

"Yes, but this is designed to penetrate armor, and it won't alert the enemy to your firing position… Please, I have no use for it anymore." He said while beckoning her to take the Flat Dark Earth FN-103 (FN-57) handgun equipped with a Flat Dark Earth suppressor, fiber optic Micro Red Dot, and a Flashlight/laser combo.

"What, no way this is really that light." Miss Wilde said while effortlessly handling the rather large handgun.

"I want you to practice, I brought a few hundred cartridges extra for you to have and practice right now."

"Darling, my son's a cop. Do you really think he didn't show me how to shoot?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He may have taught you what he knows, but it'll pale in comparison to what I know. But by all means, hit that tree over there." Elliot said while pointing to a tree about fifty meters away.

"What, I can't shoot that far." She replied. Elliot took the pistol, chambered a round and took aim with his right hand only. With a breath in, and half a breath out, he squeezed off three suppressed round in rapid succession. The tree had three impact points on it within a quarters diameter apart.

"Can you son do that with one hand?"

"Man, he sucks." She said while squinting at the target.

"No, I'm sure Nick's fine at shooting, but I held the Galactic handgun and rifle record for a few years. I'm probably not up to par anymore, but I manage." Elliot said with a cynical smile.

"YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Alex yelled from the piano. "That's why you always beat me!" He screeched, causing a giggle from Ella.

* * *

-=Two hours Later: Elliot Pov=-

Alice's shooting had shown vast improvement in the few hours I had to teach her, although I knew her accuracy would plummet the moment she was being fired at. The good thing was her actually being able to hold the pistol, which had an elongated grip due to the small, Centerfire rifle cartridge the handgun fired. The recoil wasn't a problem at all because most of the gun was made for a durable plastic. The parts that were metal had a plastic covering to reduce weight, giving the weapon an almost toy feeling in your hands.

I also tested Ella in some shooting drills with a smaller version that I made for her; The pistol was only about a third the normal size, but didn't sacrifice stopping power due to the special cartridges I made for live targets only. She used lead bullets for target practice, but switched to an explosive filled counterpart for people. The round worked exactly like an old Main battle tank Chemical weapon shell; I had put my own version of highly concentrated cyanide within the round, which would be spread throughout the body via an even smaller explosive charge. Although the round was still the same size as my handgun, it could down an Elephant in one shot within a minute or two depending on the hit location. The only downside was it's complete lack of armor penetration, only being able to penetrate a rhino's dermis by a hair.

Alice was completely blown away by Ella performance, saying "She could probably beat the Zootopia swat without breaking a sweat." This of course made her beam the most adorable smile in return. I had her run several scenarios around the forested park, where I played the attacker, VIP, and target. Ella had put on her own tiny Nitinol composite armor suit I made and brought along in case she wouldn't see me again. The trench coat I wore was made of a super dense Kevlar, and when Miss Wilde asked what kind of ammo we were using to practice, I told her it was live ammo and I wouldn't hesitate to shoot Ella if she got sloppy.

This earned a most displeased glare, followed by her starting to lecture me about shooting my own daughter. "Relax would you. I made her suit to be able to stop a fifty cal. This is nothing for her, see." I said right before firing two suppressed rounds into Ella's chest, knocking her off her feet.

"Oww, that's not fair. I didn't know we were starting." She huffed while rubbing the impact points on the dark green jumpsuit.

"ELLIOT!" Miss Wilde shirked.

"What, she's fine. Right?" I asked while looking down to Ella.

"I want ice cream for that." She replied.

"Sure thing Pumpkin."

"How can… But he… You two are weird."

After a lengthy conversation about how Ella's reshaping armor worked, we had to put away the weapons from the civilians starting to roam around in the early morning. Ella changed out of her armor suit and back into her blue dress, I flipped up my hoodie, and Alex activated my Body hologram, turning himself into a wolf. I put all of our spare items in one of the storage compartments on the YF-185, then sat down at the piano to play for possibly the last day in my life. I didn't bother sending the Jet home or cloaking it because of the Prism activity that everyone had become accustom to. Nowadays it was normal to see advanced military tech going down the road, flying overhead, or walking down the street; The ZPD had hired a few squads of Prism security forces as extra police from the lack of new recruits.

My thought process was anyone that saw the jet wouldn't do more than look at it's cool design; So far, I was right and a few hundred Raxxlan civilians had seen it. About halfway through the day, an ice cream cart came by, and Ella made sure to remind me I owed her some. I ended up paying for it with some of the money I made from playing the piano; You'd be surprised the money I made from sitting and making music for all to hear. Every now and then someone would come up and request a special song that they wanted to be played when they proposed, which often earned me a lot more. Not because I said I ' _it'll cost you'_ But due to them just handing me a wad of cash. No one noticed me being a human, although I had a few close calls with children that were able to look right up my hoodie.

"Alrighty' folks, this is my last song of the day, do we have any requests?" I asked while facing the small gaggle of animals around the piano. As usual, I was berated with songs all at one. "Hold up, one at a time. YOU." I said while pointing to an Antelope.

"TRY EVERYTHING!" He shouted in response.

"Okay, how about you." I said as I pointed to a panther.

"Chasing cars by Snow patrol." She replied.

"Hmm, I haven't done that one in a while… how about one more? You." I said with my hand pointed to Miss Wilde.

"Oh umm… This Town." She replied with a smile.

"Okay folks, Who wants Try everything? Mmmkay, who wants Chasing Cars? And who want's me to play This town. . . Very well, it seems like-ya wanna' hear Try everything… What a surprise." I mumbled while resting my fingers on the keyboard

By the time I was done playing, the gaggle, or maybe _flock_ of pedestrians was outright ' _Dancing',_ although it looked more like they stubbed their toes while being set on fire. With the last of the encoring for more songs beaten back, I had one last talk with Ella and Alice while Alex primed the YF-185.

"Ella, I put all your stuff, plus some snacks in here. You're going to stay with Miss Wilde for a few days, okay?" I asked from a kneeling position while I held out a small backpacking pack.

"D-did I do something wrong?" She asked in a dejected tone.

"NO…no-no. You didn't do anything at all Pumpkin. Alex and I are going to get me some medicine, and I asked Miss Wilde if she would look after you for a day or two."

It seemed like torture to not hear a response come from the usually spry Kit, even though what she wanted to say came through in her watery eyes. "I'll miss you, and if you don't c-come back, I'll be shhhh-sure to listen t-to ev-ev-ev." Ella's small whimpers gave way to a howl of tears while she grasped my chest with all her might.

"I'm sss-sorry Ella, I'm sorry If I don't come back. But know… I will _ALWAYS_ love you." I mumbled while cradling the Blob of white fur I held dearest to my heart.

* * *

-=Four hours later 20:37=-

Alex and I were currently en-route to the Prism Security R&D lab in our soon to be destroyed home, the FNS Artemis. At one point it was an excellent Superheavy Fighter, however now it was a rusting punching bag that fought back. The elongated triangular design helped with in-atmosphere flight, but it was never meant for it. Being over a hundred and fifty meters long, eighty-two meters wide, and twenty-eight meters high without the landing gear extended made for a bitch to maneuver on planets. It could pack quite the wallop, having enough direct energy reserves left to destroy all of Zootopia with some to spare

The plan was quite simple in theory. I'd stay in my comfy captain's chair, raining laser fire on everything that moved, and Alex would go get the R.S.K's from the sub level where they're stored. I would also direct the YF-185 remotely as my hidden wingman, taking out all enemy air support in the area automatically. Right on cue, fifteen enemy radar signatures popped up at a distance of twenty kilometers on my three-O-clock. The Orange display directly in front of me didn't just show distance, also including altitude relation; This was achieved from the holographic properties of the display.

"This is Eagle keeper, deploying YF-185 for automated support." I said while opening the hanger bay located on the belly of my Federal Corvette. With a quiet whooshing sound, a green triangle popped up on my radar amongst the dozens of red triangles.

"Eagle keeper to YF-185, target and engage closest threats out to a range of thirty kilometers, how copy?"

"This is YF-185 autonomous systems responding, I read you loud and clear Eagle keeper. Engaging twenty four targets. Be advised, I detect an additional thirty two signatures at a range of eighty-two kilometers, bearing Zero-Four-Five. Recommend deployment to engage additional targets." The jet replied in an almost human voice.

"Negative YF-185, only engage targets if they come within the fifteen kilometer radius, how copy?"

"This is YF-185 autonomous systems responding, I read you loud and clear Eagle keeper, over." The jet said while it broke off to engage the enemy jets to my three-O-clock. Apparently my radar systems were going out as well, I had only detected fifteen targets while the YF-185 saw almost fifty.

"Eagle keeper to Viper five, two mikes to the LZ. Looks like Prism deployed the entire AADC to stop us."

"Heh-heh-heh, if they don't know what opening the gates of hell looks like, 185's about to show em'. Just a side note, you really need to find a better condenser for the Dubstep gun."

"Copy, get a better condenser for the Sonic disruption cannon."

"If by disruption you mean lung rupturing, then yeah... _Disruption."_

Through our short chat about Alex's primary weapon, the YF-185 had already shot down fifteen enemy fighters and interceptors. This evented in all the enemy aircraft scattering in all directions in an attempt to spot the invisible jet. After eliminating the R&D lab's anti air, I hovered over the main building within the walls of the lab. Alex would jump out of the cargo scoop, and make his way down fifteen floors of heavily guarded corridors, encountering sentry turrets, and EXO-skeleton wearing guards consisting of mostly wolves for size reasons. The lower levels were guarded by larger animals wearing full protection EXO suits; The suits had an M2 browning mounted to their right arm in addition to rocket pods on their shoulders.

After about fifteen minutes of hearing Alex count to himself, I couldn't take any more of it. "Dude, shut up already."

"What, you wanted me to keep track of how many I killed… One-O-four...One-O-five."

"Show Off." I replied begrudgingly.

"Okay, I'm at the vault. Breaching, standby." He whispered seconds before the sound of a special compound he formulated burned a hole in the nuclear hardened blast door. The next thing to blast through the headset was the sound of Wubs and dubs from the Sonic Disruption Cannon, and screams of lungs and eardrums rupturing. "One-Fifteen." He mumbled. "Okay. room's clear." Alex said with a puzzled tone.

"Okay, now get the RSK and get out. I've dealt with everything up here, but I can see three columns of tanks rolling in fast."

"You didn't understand. The vault is empty, I say again the vaul- **BANG. . .** Shit, I'm hit." Alex said gruffly with the sound of the S.D.C (Sonic Disruption Cannon) Firing in the background.

"Shit, copy viper five, I'm coming in with the mark seven." I said while unfastening my flight seat harness.

"Negative, It was trap all along. Get the hell outta here, I can blow the whole facility with my limbs."

"Too late, I'm already suited up." I said while standing a few meters away from the flight seat."

"You take that shit off, we haven't calibrated the s-servos yet."

"I'm not enabling them genius, now shut up and stay hidden." I ordered while slipping on the helmet for my suit of armor. Instead of rappelling down like Alex, I took the gentle rout of landing in the YF-185 near the main entrance. I only bothered to take a suppressed pistol with several different munitions types due to most of the security forces being already killed by Alex. Unlike him, I used finesse to make my way through the facility, shooting out any cameras before they spotted me, discretely eliminating what few hostiles remained, and using security badges to get through locked doors. At one point in my way to the vault, I had hidden in an interrogation room, peering out through an almost microscopic crack at an officer walking by. The Vixen seemed off in the way she walked, which I would have dismissed if it weren't for the unnatural way she spotted me.

There was no possible way I would have been seen even if you knew I was there. The room was pitch black with only a millimeter or two gap in the door, yet she walked by and whipped her head towards me like I was waving a flare. What really topped it off was her looking directly into my eye, and simply walking away. Of course the first thing I thought of was an ambush, but it never happened.

The further down into the facility I went, the stranger it became. Sub-level one what where I saw the Vixen, Sub-level two didn't really have anything except some really messed up genetic experiments gone wrong. Sub-level three almost made me consider Alex's request to ditch him. No alarms, no light, no sound, no anything. I could see due to the mixture of my camera eye picking up ultraviolet light and the Radar detecting anything that wasn't stealth. That was that scared me, I kept seeing movement of shapes going across the halls with my camera, but the radar didn't pick up anything . With my improved version, I would be able to detect a fly going across the hall at a hundred meters, but I had nothing. Then the whispers started, like fuck, the shadows weren't enough. I kept hearing my name followed by something about DNA whispered as if the source was inches away from my ear. Now imaging that, walking through a lightless environment, seeing shadows basically floating across the halls, and hearing your name repeated into your ear with an eerie voice.

On the fourth sub-level, things only improved slightly. I kept seeing glimpses of the Vixen officer along with a cheetah officer, both looking at me with exact precision, In the air vent, behind or under a dead body, it didn't matter where I hid, they always saw me like I was wearing an orange suit and waving glow sticks around. They never engaged me, simply watching, almost taunting my ineptitude. This really got under my skin. Back in the days before the Baal-hermon explosion, I would have run up to then and kicked their shit in with my D.D.N.A.M, although now I was limited to a walking speed and not lifting objects over fifty pounds.

The fifth Sub-level was where Alex and the vault was located. I've seen some things in my time alive, but this was downright revolting. I knew what the S.D.C would do to living organisms in theory, but we had never tested it on living things before, creating a completely ignorant user. Our measurements said the weapon would break apart the lungs, ear drums, and liver… It was far worse than that.

Most of the animal's skin had been peeled right off, leaving ripped muscle and tendon. Those lucky enough to get hit in the face had their eyes removed, brain blended, and skull cracked. Those unlucky few who were only hit in the body had torn guts, no stomach and broken ribs.

"So much blood." I whispered from horror. The entire hallway, floor and walls were red, everything was red. Armor didn't do anything but make it worse, sending pieces of steel and ceramic into the wearer's body.

"You would be correct." A voice said behind me. When I whipped around, it was the Vixen officer, just standing in her uniform.

"Who the hell are you? How did you see me?" I demanded while aiming at center mass with cyanide and armor piercing loaded in a stagger within the thirty round pistol magazine.

"It does not matter who we are, but what we meant to you a long time ago." Another voice from my six said. I was now blocked from both sides of the body filled hallway, Fox on one side, Cheetah on the other.

"If we ever knew each other, you need to forget whatever we had because I'm not him… I won't hesitate filling you with cyanide if you don't move out of the way." Just as I finished my sentence, Alex popped out of a door and blasted the Cheetah with the S.D.C. This blurred the air, preventing me from seeing the effect it had. When he released the trigger, the Cheetah was standing with her paw outstretched into a "stop" hand signal. She was perfectly fine, unharmed by what had peeled the armor and skin right off a rhino.

"Hey-uhhh, I think We're boned tight now." Alex whispered into my ear.

"Ya don't say." I replied sarcastically while tilting my head.

"If you lay down your weapons, we will protect you from what's coming, we owe you this much. If you do not, that tells us you wish to fight this battle on your own." The vixen said calmly.

"What do you think?" Alex asked quietly.

"I don't trust them, they did some bullshit stuff a few minutes ago. Besides, we have your nuclear legs to save us if shit goes sideways."

"Huh, you never cursed before." The Vixen said.

"Yeah, I tend to do that right before I loose it." I said with a panicked voice, clutching my weapon tightly.

"… I see you have made your decision Gene bearer, I wish you to know this. Whenever your life is in inanimate danger, we shall be there to lend a helping hand should you request it. Goodbye my love." The Vixen said seconds before vaporizing.

"The fuck was that!?" Alex shrieked.

"You seriously think I know the answer to that?"

"Well, she did say-"

"Hello Elliot." A third voice said from down the hall, this one sounding much more hostile.

"Are you another one of those teleport-ey animals?" I asked while facing a Snow leopard in Dress blues, a color reserved for extremely high ranking officers in Prism.

"No, I am not. Do you know who I am?" She asked while staring us down with a sharp gaze emanating from her light blue eyes.

"Uhh, the animal that took all my stuff six years ago. Speaking of that, I need it back."

"Heh-heh, I'm sure you do… Do you know your current bounty? Just in case you forgot, its three billion in bearer bonds. Do you know how far I could expand my company with that money? But I haven't, I've left you alone for two years for you to live in peace. I've been keeping your trail cold for anyone that wishes to find you. I-I've been listening to you play that piano for two years of joy, and two years of sadness. Every time I saw that wolf sitting there, puttering away at those keys with unmatched skill, I wanted to walk up and hug him for hours… I wanted to hold you." She said quietly.

"Stalker alert." Alex whispered.

"I AM NO SUCH THING! THAT MAN PROPOSED TO ME HOURS BEFORE I LOST HIM!" The snow leopard screamed with tears.

"Listen, I'm sure you believe that's true, but I don't know who you are. No move out of the way." I said while raising my handgun.

"If you don't put your weapons down… Elliot, I will be forced to take the one you cherish most."

"What are you talking about?" I asked with a failing facade.

"I'll admit, you trained her perfectly. She killed over forty-five of my best males, but everyone runs out of ammunition." She said while Ella was brought around the corner. There we were, the most powerful people in the world, all standing in the same blood filled hallway. My bitter enemy claiming to be my wife while holding my Daughter hostage, the best hand to hand combat soldier in the world standing at my side… and me. The disavowed fleet Admiral.

"Ítan timí mou pou ypiretoún mazí sas. . . Tóra kai gia pánta, tha eínai pánta fílos mou." _It's been an honor serving with you. Now and forever, you will always be my friend._ Alex said moments before raising his weapon to fire, successfully squeezing a burst of sonic waves off before being hit in the head and chest. The snow leopard, which was the target, seemed completely fine and unaffected by the blast; Alex on the other hand was missing half a face.

"You have fifteen seconds to call the Superheavy fighter located on Lubrilia. You will also submit the YF-185 jet to us for reverse engineering. If you don't comply." She said calmly while pulling out a pistol and aiming it at Ella's head. "I think you understand."

"Daddy. I'm sorry they got me, I tried, but there were too many." She mumbled while looking at her feet.

"Ella, look at me. You did great, and when we go home I'll get you as much ice cream as you want." I said, which caused a slight wag of Ella's tail.

"Aww, how sweet. You have ten seconds." The snow leopard said while pulling the hammer back.

"NO, I-I can't get the ship without Alex's code! I don't know it." I said with fear for my daughter.

"I don't believe you… Five seconds."

"Ella, Ella look at me!" I commanded with dread, Getting an immediate response from Ella.

"FOUR!"

"I will _Always_ love you, my special snowflake."

"THREE!"

"I love you too daddy." She whimpered back

"TWO!"

"Close y-your eyes Pumpkin." I said while falling to my knees.

"ONE!" The snow leopard shouted as the most precious thing in my life shut her amber eyes.

* * *

 **A/N:** **I would appreciate if you took he time to write a review, it lets me know if you people are enjoying what I'm writing.**

 **Also, sorry for any typos.**


	4. Chapter 4: The Cake Is A Lie

Chapter Four: The cake is a lie

 _If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don't, they never were._

* * *

-=Judith Crawford Pov=-

"Be advised, we'll be coming out of our eighty-ninth jump in a few minutes, you will have a few hours while the Witch-space drives cool down. I suggest you find some sleep in the gravity rings, Over." I said while sitting in one of the three captains chairs, which was located in the center of the unsealed CIC room. The new Farragut Interdictors I helped design put in far more creature comforts, including two city sized gravity rings for the entire crew to reside in. Each of the rings had a space in the center almost reaching two kilometers, giving the rings an outer diameter of two kilometers. This new ship had three CIC rooms, a weapons room, fighter room, and the main room which held the Captain and a few miscellaneous officers for different tasks. To fire one of the four, Class Seven Railguns mounted in the broadside position, the captain would tell the executive Weapons officer in the main CIC room to fire. He would then relay the message to the weapons CIC room, which would in turn tell the actual gunner to fire. This took about five seconds in total to complete, and with a ship that big, five seconds usually wouldn't make an issue.

The same process would be done for the fighters deployed or docked. All emergency damages crews would be relayed through the ship's computer system, SATCOM, or Sam as she preferred. I still couldn't believe Elliot let her upgrade herself freely, which ended in her acting completely human par for the humanly errors. Both of our copies of SATCOM knew they were computers, they just didn't care; My version of Sam had been copied from Elliot's original, which was who raised both of us from birth. Sam Even tried to convince me to let her use our automated manufacturing shop to make a Bio-printed body for herself. Of course I explicitly forebode it, although she often took control of the humanoid security bots to talk with me regardless.

"Admiral, you have the helm. I need to be somewhere." I said to the dark skinned man next to me. "OH, and Denton, you still owe me a twenty for that bet a few days ago." I whispered while sauntering past the chair to my right. The moment I passed the threshold into the Hallway, I found four soldiers standing around me, two on the _floor_ and two on the _ceiling._

I told you to stop following me everywhere, I can take care of myself." I said while being followed to one of the elevators that would move me to the right gravity ring. The moment I stepped into the industrial sized elevator all four soldiers entered with me.

"Come on Ma'am, you're the most important women in the Galaxy right now, we have to escort you everywhere." The lead man, who was wearing a stealth Exoskeleton suit said.

"Fine, at least the EXO suits are almost invisible. I mean, you almost look decent William."

"Ohh and the President uses your first name, She wants the D!" The women in the group joked.

"Ha-ha Evelyn. Dunn and I have known each other for awhile. Besides, don't you think I just want to have a conversation among friends?" I asked the group of four, who were all wearing the almost invisible EXO suit.

I had personally designed their clothing, weapons, and armor to be very concealable. All four of them wore OD green pants, tan long sleeve shirts, rimless shooters glasses, and a micro sized Exoskeleton suit that gave them the strength of fifteen men. All the clothing had been embedded with the same material as my G-suit, only to a lower degree of protection. The glasses had an embedded heads up display that presented vitals of the user, ammo count, a small radar system that synced into their EXO suits, and retinal tracking for their weapons. The Exoskeleton suits had design elements off of my Wingsuit, including the dual beam lasers that extracted above the user's head. I also incorporated the temporary shield and Quantum Refraction Field into the backpack module. All in all, the highly trained Ex-infiltration forces guarding me looked very dashing.

"I suppose we could back off a bit, but then how would we know where you are if you're ditching us… _again."_ Evelyn Hawkins replied.

"Uhh, I dunno, maybe the tracker embedded into my spinal chord." I snarked back. "Anyway, have you had some range time with the suits yet?"

"Yes Ma'am, not that we need range practice. All we do is look at the target and press a button on the side of our index finger." Second Lieutenant Dunn replied.

"Yeah, but it's still good to get familiar with the energy drains on the system. Well, looks like we're here, no following me in there." I said while standing at the entrance of the C.S.S room.

"But we got training in there." Specialist Lawrence Yates interjected just before I closed the door.

"I'm well aware of that Yates, but right now, no one is to come or go except for me and J.F, Clear?"

"Yes Ma'am" Dunn replied.

Inside the C.S.S room wasn't too fancy, just a few horizontal chairs for people to lay in, and a single clear tank filled with opaque blue liquid. In this room was the uplink for Sam's simulated reality systems, allowing a thirty to one time scale inside the program. I had used it to give my four private guards nearly three years of intensive training from Sam in just thirty six days.

The tables allowed for a normal uplink to the computer system, and the blue liquid filled tank was used for extended uplinks, up to one whole year if necessary. This would give the user three decades of time in the computer system, which was indistinguishable from the real world.

"Hey Judy." Someone mumbled from behind me.

"Morning... you doing okay?" I asked the depressed women.

"Ehh, just hoping I can see him soon." She answered while standing next to me.

"Yeah, me too. But hey, we can always check his vitals and other stuff." I said while walking up to the large tank butted up to the wall.

"Can I maybe have a hug?" She asked hesitantly.

"Sure thing Jacqueline." I said while turning around to face the Raxxlan Snow Leopard. Upon wrapping my arms around her, I found my leg enveloped in a fluffy tail. "Something in particular bothering you?" I asked the spotted cat, who rested her head on my left shoulder.

"I don't know." She mumbled. "I just don't understand why Elliot decided to do this."

"Can you keep a secret?" I asked, which received a silent nod in response. "I don't know what happened to Elliot while he was in that coma, but he changed. His physical DNA is different and I don't know how it happened. . . He could consummate with you and produce offspring." I said, which caused her to slightly tense for a moment.

After a few seconds of silence, I started to notice her shuddering ever so slightly. "Then why would he leave me without as much as a goodbye? Why would he just lock himself in that computer for the past three months without as much as a reason?" She whimpered.

"I don't know Jacqueline, I simply do not know." I replied while rubbing the wailing Feline's back.

"I just want to hold him so badly, a-and Sam won't let us take him out, and-and-and. . . I miss him so much."

"If it makes you feel any better, Elliot should be out of the simulation in a few minutes. The thing he was trying to verify has been verified." Sam said through the intercom, which caused Jacqueline's claws to extract into by back; Although it did hurt, I wouldn't bother interrupting her grieving.

By the time Elliot was ready for disembarkation from the simulation, Jacqueline had recomposed herself and become rather giddy. With a loud hiss from the tank, the blue liquid inside was drained to the floor, leaving Elliot in a thorough covering of the blue slime. Once the floor was completely emptied of liquid, a shower of water washed off most of the retention fluid on Elliot's naked body.

"Jacqueline, Close your eyes." I said while holding my hand over her face.

"I'm not a child." She replied indignantly.

"Would you like him to see you naked in that tube?" I asked while raising an eyebrow.

". . . Maybe." She replied coquettishly.

"Heh-heh, _Elliot sure knows how to pick em'."_ I thought to myself while the glass tube opened, allowing me to unhook him from the various cables and wires linking him to the computer. By this point, Elliot was being suspended by a mechanical arm grasping his shoulders. I really didn't like the idea of him using the **L** ong **T** erm **I** ntegration **C** hamber due to several disembarkation complications that always popped up. First off was the long time he would spend unconscious, second was once Elliot woke up, he would have mental problems. More specifically, he wouldn't know what was real and what wasn't, something that wouldn't be a problem with normal uplinking through the bed/chairs placed around the room.

I decided to lay him on one of the bed/chairs while we waited, sending S.F.C Hawkins to go get Elliot some soft clothing due to his skin being over sensitized from the blue retention fluid. She ended up returning with some fluffy blue pajama pants and a long sleeve Pajama shirt of the same hue. Almost the exact second I finished dressing the naked body, Elliot opened his eyes a sliver.

"Hey, long time no see Elliot." I cooed from above his supine body.

His response was only an incoherent mutter that was followed up with tears coming from his eyes.

"Oh shit." I muttered. "DUNN, get me sixty CC's of Pipecuronium bromide, NOW!" I shouted in knowledge of what would come the instant Elliot regained muscular control.

"W-what's happening to him?" Jacqueline asked with worry.

"He doesn't know that it was a simulation, DAMMIT! This is why we never use the L.T.I.C, it always fucks with your mind." I said in frustration.

The longer we waited for William to return with the chemical, the more coherent Elliot became. At the two minute mark he began crying about someone named Viper Five, and how he would find retribution for what someone did. Most of it was still scattered and impossible to understand, but I could tell whatever happened in there wasn't a pleasant experience.

"J-Judith." He whispered in a beckoning tone.

I leaned in close to his mouth, careful to keep a taser in my hand just in case I had done something to him in the simulation. "I'm here Elliot." I cooed.

"Y-You have to kill her… You have to kill that fucking cat." Elliot mumbled with an abominated tone. I nodded silently to him while returning to my upright position.

"You need to leave." I said to Jacqueline, who looked at me with a ' _what the hell'_ expression.

"I've got it Ma'am!" Dunn shouted while darting through the door, quickly handing me a large syringe with clear liquid.

"Judy, what's wrong with him!?" Jacqueline shouted, causing Elliot to snap his head to the left. Almost instantly, he rolled off the table and stood up, albeit groggily.

"Dunn, restrain him." I said while bleeding the needle of air.

"Yes Ma'am." He replied while moving towards Elliot, who started backing away.

"NO! You have to kill her, she killed my best friend. . . She killed Alex right in front of me." Elliot said in a panicked wail of tears.

"Elliot, what are you t-"

"JACQUELINE, LEAVE!" I shouted with frustration, causing the cat to immediately scamper away. When Dunn cornered Elliot, he began to hyperventilate uncontrollably while pressing his back up to the corner. Dunn tried to reason with him, all ending in the same answer. "You have to kill that cat."

"Dammit, just bring him over here Dunn." I ordered with impatience.

When Dunn reached out, Elliot responded with a quick jab to Dunn's neck, causing the Second lieutenant to collapse on the ground.

"Dammit Elliot, stop resisting." I said while setting down the syringe to grab Elliot myself. As I walked closer, he began side stepping towards the door. "Elliot, just relax." I said while holding out my hands.

"Y-you're working with her, h-how am I supposed to trust anything you say?. . . Just leave me alone, okay." Elliot replied warily.

"Whatever you remember happening, didn't happen. It was all just a simulation."

"Heh-heh-heh… You think I'd believe something as stupid as that." And poof, Elliot was running through the entrance of the C.S.S.

Knowing that the rest of my security team would subdue Elliot, I padded to Dunn, who was still laying on the floor in a coughing fit. "Dunn, you had one job, ONE JOB." I said while hoisting him upright.

"Sombitch packs a wallop." He replied.

"LET ME GO!" I heard Elliot yell from just outside, prompting me to retrieve the syringe and walk to the restrained Admiral. When Elliot laid eyes on me with the syringe, he started violently shaking in terror while staring wide eyed. "Please, just let me live my life in peace, all I need is the R.S.K to fix my body."

"Elliot, I'm not going to let anything happen to you… You have my word." I said while pressing the silver needle into his neck, sending the terrified man limp. "Take him to the prison hold, but make it comfortable." I told the two holding Elliot by the arms.

"Yes Ma'am." S.F.C Hawkins replied.

* * *

-=Eight hours later: Elliot Pov=-

"Ella, Ella look at me!" I commanded with dread, getting an immediate response from the small kit.

"FOUR!"

"I will _Always_ love you, my special snowflake."

"THREE!"

"I love you too daddy." She whimpered back.

"TWO!"

"Close y-your eyes Pumpkin." I said while falling to my knees.

"ONE!" The snow leopard shouted as the most precious thing in my life shut her amber eyes.

"AHHHH!" I screamed while shooting upright. I began frantically looking around me for Ella, yet only found that accursed Snow leopard sitting on the other side of an energy barricade.

I was in a cell, although it had many things a cell wouldn't have. A nice bed was this first, books to read, a table with a sharpened pencil that I immediately clutched in my hands. Blank pieces of paper, and a holographic cube PDA. Realizing I had a nightmare, I started looking around the ten by ten foot room, finding no possible escape without dropping the energy barricade that comprised an entire wall.

"What do _you_ want? You already took my things, my friends and family, what else could you possibly want from me?" I hissed while sitting on the bed, still clutching the sharp pencil.

"What happened to you in there?" She replied with sadness.

"UGH, you can drop the fucking simulation bullshit. Even with Prism's advancements, you couldn't possibly produce a virtual reality."

"I. . . I brought you food ya-know. . . If you're hungry." She mumbled while sliding a tray of steaming mashed potatoes and chicken through a small hole in the shield.

"I'm good on the drugs, thanks." I said with spite. I then walked within inches of the shield, and knelt to the sitting cat. "If you want to get any information out of me, you should know I spent five years of my life enduring the most unthinkable torture out there. So unless you plan on disemboweling me, then putting a set of incompatible organs in my body so my immune system starts eating away at my organs, then repeating the process dozens of times… good luck getting anything out of me." I said with a sinister smile.

"Elliot, as long as it takes to help you get better, I'll wait for you. Just like you promised, I love you now and forever." She said with a few tears damping the spotted fur upon her face.

"Uh-huh, you did say something about me proposing to you a few years ago. But like I said before, I have _no idea_ who you are. Now if you don't mind, I have some things to do." I said while seating myself at the table, a blank piece of white paper sitting in front of me. Before the mopey Snow leopard sauntered away, I began scribbling on the paper with expert precision when I noticed something. My hands and arms were void of all burn marks or G-suit fabric. Immediately shooting my shirt up, I found nothing on my chest either. When I looked in a plastic mirror embedded into the wall, I found my eyes were actual eyes, I just hadn't noticed the vision change until now.

"What the hell really happened to me?" I mumbled while staring at my pristine face.

* * *

-=Three days later=-

"Stand against the wall, legs and arms apart." A man said, I believe his name was Dunn. Yeah, that was the guy I punched in the throat.

"Not even going to take me to dinner first?" I asked with unamused sarcasm while complying. After the man patted me down, he began searching the cell. "I don't know what you expect to find, I haven't exactly been able to go anywhere that would allow me to make something." I said.

"Just making sure, with a man of your skill set, anything could be possible." He replied while taking a closer look at some of the drawings I taped around the room. "Who's this fox?"

"..."

"That's okay, I'll find out one way or another." He said while carefully pulling all my drawings off the wall.

"Hey, Come on. Give them back." I said while turning around.

"AH-AH, Hands on the wall Crawford."

"… Please." I mumbled with sadness while the man reactivated the energy barricade, still holding about a dozen of my pictures.

"I will return them once We've analyzed who these people are." Dunn said while flipping through the stack. "Hey, I recognize this guy. Who is this?" He said while holding up a drawing of Alex and I standing next to each other.

"My friend… Saved my life at the cost of his own."

"Ah, who killed him?"

"She did." I said while pointing to the Snow leopard that was walking up. "Shot him right in the face inches away from me." I said while restraining my emotions.

"Uh-huh… I should have these back by tomorrow. They're really good by the way." Dunn said while walking down the hall. I didn't bother greeting the cat, simply sitting down at the table to resume my current drawing of Ella sitting in my lap. After a few minutes of silently drawing, and resharpening my almost depleted pencil, I didn't like the feeling of the cat staring at me.

"What do you want?" I asked coldly.

"To talk with you, that's all." She replied in the Raxxlan language.

"Ahh, and you don't want anyone to know what we're saying?" I replied in Raxxlan.

"No, it's just easier to speak this language compared to yours."

"Well, get on with it then."

"A few days ago you said something to me that's been keeping me up at night. You said you proposed to me a few years ago, was it true?"

"Why should I answer you, what would I get in return?" I asked without taking my eyes off the paper in front of me.

"I-I could try to get you something. What do y-"

"Colored pencils. A large package of high quality colored pencils. Acid free, one-hundred weight fine tooth paper. A kneeded eraser, and a high quality sharpener. I understand if you can't get me the latter, but everything else is non-optional."

"How do I know you'll hold up your end of the deal?"

"If I don't, you can just take the things away." I said while sliding a piece of paper through the food hole in the Energy barrier. "My items are on the paper."

 **(Mostly Strings: All I want)**

* * *

-=Three hours Later=-

"I got you everything you asked for, even the sharpener." The snow leopard said while sliding the items in one by one. I began checking each thing, the stack of high quality paper, my new pencils, and so forth. "So?" She asked while sitting on the floor.

"I don't know."

"What?"

"I don't know if I proposed to you or not. I don't even know why you're asking me this, after all, You're the one who said I proposed."

"WHAT!? You can't just give me an answer like that after all I went through to get you this!" She shouted in response.

"You wanted to know if I really did propose to you. I don't know the answer to that question, my memory has been quite spotty the past few years since the Baal-hermon explosion."

"The what?"

"OH, WOULD YOU QUIT WITH THE IGNORANCE! The Neutron bomb that destroyed the Rabbit town! The place where you built your EMIPIRE off _my_ technology! The place where you shot my best friend and my daughter right in front of me!" I screamed with tear filled eyes. "If you're going to swing the ax, JUST SWING IT! But don't come in here and keep me prisoner, saying you have no idea what you've done to me!"

"Elliot." She whimpered back.

"LEAVE ME ALONE YOU FUCKING BALL OF HAIR!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Seconds later, the cat stood and scurried away from me while crying. After all I had been through, after all I had sacrificed to keep those around me safe, It all ended in my Loved ones dying in front of my face. It all ended with the girl I swore to protect till my last breath having her brains splattered on the wall, and it was all because I wanted to live a little bit longer. I got my best friend and my daughter killed all because I didn't want to be taken care of like an old man.

Then to have the one responsible for it all standing in front of me, allied with the one who I trusted most in life… My wife. Judith, the one I grew up with, the one I loved with all my being had allied with the one I hated most. I had no one in this world left I could trust. Who would be there to watch my back when everyone I knew was killed or turned against me. No longer could I trust the Federation or the empire, for they were merged into the Human defense forces under the control of Judith Crawford.

Out of everyone in my life that I trusted the most, it was her. But now she was nothing more than an enemy holding me prisoner in a place I did not know, In a land far from my home. As I laid on the bed in a ball of snot and tears, clutching the one picture that hadn't been taken from me. I stared at the picture of who gave me joy in the depths of my despair, The one who always put a smile on my face when I was feeling down. The one who I won't ever get to hold and comfort again.

" _I will always love you my special snowflake. Goodbye Ella."_ Was written on the back of the black and white drawing.

* * *

 **A/N: H** **ope you enjoyed the chapter. Reviews are appreciated. If you have a writing tip, throw it at me.**


	5. Chapter 5: Forgiveness

_Chapter Five: Forgiveness_

 _We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies._

* * *

-=Judith Pov=-

"HE DID WHAT!?" I asked with rage.

"A-and I don't kn-kn-kno-know how m-m-m-m-much longer I c-can do this." The Raxxlan Snow leopard sobbed out while I cradled her in my arms.

"Jacqueline, you wait here. I've had enough with his attitude towards us." I seethed while picking up a series of cards decorated with elaborate patterns on them. I could understand Elliot being mad at Jacqueline for something she did in the simulation, but calling her a hairball was one of the worst possible slurs that could be said to a member of the Felidae family. I had been lenient in the past few days, hoping I wouldn't have to use a more dangerous method of memory recovery embedded into our DNA. Once I arrived at Elliot's ' _cell'_ I found him violently scribbling on a piece of paper with the new drawing materials I granted him.

"I tried to play nice, Elliot. I tried to let your memories come back naturally, but-"

"Shut up, and wait five minutes. You may be allied with the cat now, but after you see what I had to live through, you might change your mind." Elliot interrupted.

"So help me Elliot, I will use the N.M.R on you if you don't can the attitude." This resulted in a slight pause with his scribbles.

"Very well Crawford, I will heed your warning. Now If you would be so polite as to wait for me to finish drawing my memory, you will understand why I have spoken what I have." Elliot said while scribbling with a few shades of dark red.I peered closer to the table where he was drawing, only resulting in him hiding the page from view. I already looked at all the other pictures he drew, which looked better than real life; Elliot had never been amazing a drawing, but it was a requirement for enemy weapons identification. He must have refined his skills in his time in the simulation.

I sat across the hall on a fold out bench seat, watching him scribble on the page for a few minutes at a time. Followed by him quietly whimpering for a few minutes while beads of liquid dribbled onto the table. This continued for much longer than the five minutes he said it would take, although waiting for a few hours was only a moment to me; I had nearly six-hundred years of my life span left should I die of natural causes.

"Here, this will explain everything." Elliot said in a hoarse tone as he slid a single piece of paper face down through the food slot.

The absolute second I turned the page over, I understood everything.

". . . This, this is disgusting. How did these bodies get so mangled?" I asked while pointing to the mutilated bodies littered all over the floor In the picture.

"Do you realize how much I want to punch you In the face right now?" Elliot seethed. "I just showed you a picture of my daughter being executed in that horrible place, yet all you ask is HOW THE BODIES GOT LIKE THAT!"

"Calm down Elliot. I saw the fox, but it _didn't happen_." I said while sliding the page in, only for Elliot to waive me off.

"How many times are you going to keep saying that?" He asked while pacing back and forth, parallel with the energy barricade.

"As many as it takes for you to remember, I still don't know what happened to you in there. Sam won't let me see the video file." I said, almost reaching the point where I would show Elliot the photos of patterns I brought.

"Bring me an interfacing system of SATCOM's virtual reality. If what you say holds any water, I will know what to do."

"You know I can't bring one of those in. You could create about ten very deadly weapons with that equipment." I replied while folding up the drawing Elliot made to show Jacqueline at a later date.

"Then take me to Sagittarius A. I have the means to authenticate what you have said." Elliot said while seating himself on the bed within the cell.

"I can't do that. We're on a diplomatic mission to the people of Daurilia."

"Who?" Elliot asked with a perplexed face.

"Zootopia?" I asked, hoping he at least remembered that much.

"Oh, you mean the people of Raxxla. Yeah, I gave up with the names they call themselves.

"Raxxla! As in _THÉ_ Raxxla. As the gateway to multiple universes, the paradise planet with mystical healing properties?" I asked while standing within inches of the shield, fully enthralled with what Elliot said.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. But don't expect me to tell you anything with getting something in return."

"Name it."

"I would like an un-timed hot shower with lavender smelling soap."

After raising my eyebrow slightly, I replied. "Deal, but tell me everything." I said while seating myself across the hall.

"Raxxla is the third planet in line to receive it's intelligent life. We were around the one-thousand A.D mark when they were created. The planet vibrates in a resonance deadzone with the other universes, allowing inter-dimensional communication within specific location on the planet. The people of Raxxla themselves are guarded by someone."

"Who?"

"To receive that information, I would like one ten mile run around the gravity ring. Me legs are getting awful cramped in here."

"You're starting to push it, but very well." I answered.

"Her name is Maroth. Her hair is of black hue, and runs to her waist. She wears a white toga with a Blue sash, and has Black wings like a raven. Maroth is a master at manipulating Gamma radiation, this information came to me in a dream just last night. So don't expect me to remember it by tomorrow."

"I don't suppose you have an eye color to go with that?" I asked sarcastically.

"Brilliant green. They really are that bright in hue. Now, I would like to go for my run in one hour, followed by the shower afterwards." Elliot said while laying down.

"You wanted both from the beginning, didn't you?" I asked while crossing my arms.

"Perhaps… Perhaps not." Elliot answered with a subtle crease forming at the corner of his mouth.

I had a fair amount of preparing ahead of me in order to make Elliot's run pose no danger to the crew. The very first thing I did was clear the six kilometer circumference of the starboard gravity ring. I sealed every bulkhead door that was linked to the main hallway, allowing no escape, should Elliot try. I requisitioned nearly an entire regiment of foot soldiers armed to the teeth, positioning them every meter in the hall. This put exactly six thousand men and women to guard Elliot while he went on his jog. As for the time span, it only took about half an hour to get everyone situated and instructed about Elliot's current condition.

"You have three hours to exercise freely. Should you try to escape, you'll find they won't be very kind." I said while opening the bulkhead linking the Prison hold to the main hallway.

"Oh, this is quaint. Have I the entire royal guard watching me?" He replied up laying eyes on the line of troops staring him down.

"Three hours." I said while pressing the switch to close the airlock.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

"So any of you feel like talking to me?" I asked while stretching my ligaments.

"SIR! We are not to converse with you, SIR!" Someone shouted.

"Ah-ha. Well, better get to it." I said while starting at a leisurely jog, my shoes clicking with the linoleum floor. After running for about five minutes at the borderline jog, I broke out into a full sprint. Despite my current predicament, I was over joyous that I could run again. My legs had long since lost their strength from the neutron bomb explosion, but whatever they did to repair my body had worked flawlessly. Before I started running, I took off my shirt and laid it in the center of the hallway to mark each lap I made. I was also counting how many troops I passed before each rotation, extrapolating the ring had a circumference of six kilometers. For the HDF to create a ring that big and allow for that many soldiers to be guarding me, the ship had to have some sort of food growing factory. If I could sabotage it, they would have to make a pit stop for a resupply.

"Okay, I'd like my shower now." I said after making three laps at a full sprinting pace, yet not feeling tired or winded at all. The entire time I was being escorted by what I assumed to be Judith's private guard, they kept murmuring about me. I couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but it had something to do with the battle for Humanity. I had no recollection of such a battle, so I presumed it was something that happened while I was on Raxxla.

I was eventually led into a small tiled room with a single shower head protruding from the ceiling. "Seriously, you can leave now." I said while standing in my skivvies.

"Sorry Crawford, we were ordered to watch you at all times." Dunn replied.

"At least make her leave." I said while pointing to the one woman.

"Aww, is someone embarrwwwissed." She mocked in response.

"Hardly, I just assumed you would be uncomfortable with me nude."

"Naa, don't worry about it." She replied.

-=Forty-five minutes later=-

"I still don't understand how your fingers didn't get all pruney from how long you took." The woman out of the group said.

"I dunno, maybe I'm special." I replied.

"You'd have to be to destroy the Thargoid's planetary destroyer."

* * *

-=Six years ago=-

"Damn, do the Terran's even need our help?" Dahlia asked.

"YES!" I shirked back.

"OKAY, okay. I was just kidding." She replied.

"E-Elliot?" I heard come from my left, away from the Thargoid ship. When I turned my head, Jacqueline was standing a few feet away with Sergeant Dunn.

"Dunn, get her away from here!" I commanded while turning my attention back to the now glowing orb of Dark energy, which had changed from the light sucking black and blue, to a bright orange and red. "Ready to do this?" I asked Dahlia, who nodded with a focused face.

We started manipulating the Energy into a triple helical spin, followed by firing the energy at the now fully emerged Thargoid capital ship. The orange and red energy began to violently spin through the air as it hurtled toward the Capital ship. It made an almost electrical crackling sound while it hurtled through the air, and the moment it impacted the Thargoid ship, explosions rang throughout the visible portion. We started raking the beam back and forth to create even more damage, causing far more than we anticipated.

The ship started to fall apart in massive chunks where the beam went straight through the entire hull of the moon sized craft. Although we couldn't physically see the extent of the damage, one look with my E.S.P confirmed the ship was in sore condition. I could see fireballs as far as where the middle of the former United States laid, but that was only half the battle. Without creating the numerous black holes, billions of Thargoids would still be able to fight, and the war would be drawn out and costly for both sides.

" _Rachel, whenever you're ready."_ I thought while preparing myself. Almost immediately, I felt the drain on my body, and I could almost feel my powers fading away as the black holes formed all over the continent. After only a few seconds of being drained, I was too weak to support my own weight. As I collapsed to the ground, I felt Dahlia holding me in her arms, followed by Claramond attempting to heal my body as fast as it was drained.

"Come on Elliot, we spent way too long teaching you so you can be a sacrifice." Claramond said while healing my body's life force, if you will. Although I could feel that she wasn't healing me fast enough. I always knew this was a high possibility that I wouldn't survive the drain on my system, Rachel had told me that. She even tried to keep me from going through with it. But all it took was one sentence to make her understand.

 _"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few… o-or in this case, the needs of the one."_ I said with a sheepish smile.

It was that reason I had kissed Jacqueline one last time, told her I would love her forever. I wanted her know I loved her one last time, and I hope it would be enough for her to move on without me if I should not survive this ordeal. This time around it wasn't like I could be given a new body, or have mine repaired. I would simply cease to exist, all my energy would be harvested to the creation of dozens of black holes.

"You did it Elliot." I heard someone coo into my ear. "You saved the Human race." The voice cooed again. I wanted to open my eyes, but was too weak to do such a feeble task. Then another voice met my ears, one that would bring peace if I should die.

"P-Please don't die… I… I… I need you Elliot. Who's going to hold me at night, a-and pet my ears, a-a-and… P-please don't go." Jacqueline whimpered as I felt her warm tears striking my face. I tried to respond, but only found I was able to think the words I wanted to say… So I would think them into her mind.

" _It's okay my fluffy kitty. You are free to live without me, don't wait for me to find someone to have children with. But know you will always be my one and only… until the end of time I will love you… Goodbye Jacqueline."_

* * *

-=Present time=-

That memory flash caused me to almost collapse from shock, not because of the Snow leopard I saw, but of the power I manifested with my hands. I began to look at my open palms in wonder of how I could have done such a thing, and how I could replicate such a feat. I sat down on my bed within the cell, and thought over every second of that memory.

" _Did I really marry that accursed Snow leopard? Who was that woman helping me create the energy beam? Could she help me now, and even if she could, how would I contact her."_ I thought while trying to replicate what I did… AND IT WORKED. I saw a few sparks emanate from the gap between my hands, which was followed by a pea sized ball of darkness. Unsure of how powerful the energy was, I crept up to the small slot in the shield for food to be slid through, and released the energy on the other side. What followed was far worse than what I expected. The energy released into a tiny beam, completely devoid of light, burrowing right through the floor and into the vacuum of space, causing a moderate loss of oxygen.

"Shit. YATES, get the bulkhead sealer, NOW!" Dunn ordered while pressing his boot over the hole, immediately looking towards me. "YOU."

I simply gave a toothy grin in response. "You can't prove anything." I said in a lighthearted voice while moving away from the food slot in the energy barricade.

"Be advised, prisoner has remembered how to manipulate Delta Echo, How copy? Over." He said into a hidden microphone, immediately nodding a few times afterwards. "Copy, What do we do after Echo Papa bravo?" He said as the guard named Yates returned with a canister of bulkhead sealer, quickly applying it to the hole in the floor. "Yes Ma'am. So, looks like you really messed up this time, Elliot." Dunn said while pressing buttons on the control panel outside the cell.

"I will find a way to escape. The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. I have plenty of both." I said while a small trap door opened on the roof, followed by a fog like gas pouring in.

* * *

-=Six years ago=-

Lesson one million, three-hundred twenty one thousand and sixty two. If your body is under immense stress or pain, you can activate the A.C.R without having to touch yourself." Claramond said while seating herself in the tall grass surrounding us.

"Listen, I haven't ever, or will ever touch myself. I've told all of you before that sex is completely pointless to me." I said while facing Claramond.

"That's not what I meant."

"You still said it… Why are we even doing this? I can heal all four of you in three seconds flat, I even heal faster than you."

"Using brute strength is not the entire battle, you of all people should know this." She replied while readjusting the midnight blue wings attached to her upper back.

"I'm quite aware of that, yes. But brute strength still works in all applications, albeit costly in some instances."

"Just listen and learn how to do my job." Claramond said while flicking me in the forehead. "All you need to do is-"

"Wish the healing to come over me."

"Yes, did you read my mind again?" She questioned while squinting at me.

"No, Zofia taught me everything through that philosophy. Now, if you don't mind. I'd like to get this over with so we can move onto sparring. Aleksandra tried to… _advance_ on me again." I said while creating a small Dark energy knife and handing it to Claramond.

"You know we're very desperate." She replied while slicing my arm wide open.

I began to _wish_ the A.C.R to heal my wound without the need to use direct skin contact, and although Claramond had to stop the bleeding with her A.C.R to prevent me from bleeding out, I did eventually get a hang of the concept.

"I still don't see why this has an application." I said while standing up from the tall grass.

"It's not really for what I just said. This will allow you to heal anyone from anywhere in the galaxy. Now prepare to defend yourself you sexy human." She said sensually while the three other Guardians phased in all around me, each manipulation their specific ability to absolute perfection.

"Oh, I am going to kick your asses today." I replied while infusing an orb of dark energy with Gamma radiation.

* * *

-=Present time=-

It was on, That memory flash had given me so much information on how I could do things I shouldn't be able to do. "Dunn, just remember this isn't personal." I said while creating a radiation infused ball of Dark energy, which caused an orange-ish wavy pattern to scurry across the surface of the light sucking energy. I started moving the energy towards the food port of the energy barricade, but found the hole had been replaced with more force field. With that in mind, I punched a hole right through the wall and into the control panel outside, completely disabling the wall sized energy field holding me within my cell.

Dunn's facial expression instantly turned to one of shitting his pants while I raised my hand to fire a blast of Gamma radiation at his chest.

* * *

-=Six years ago=-

"What happened to your arm, did it give up?" Jacqueline mocked while still approaching. I had started to back up while I thought of a plan, but my mind pulled a total blank.

"I will not be torn to shreds." I said as I moved closer to the cliff, looking over the edge at the tree canopy below.

"You won't jump, I can see it in your eyes."

"Try me." I replied just before backing off the edge. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see my ending come. As I fell, I felt weightless. It was a calming sensation, one that was interrupted by my arm being grabbed. I looked up to see non other Than Jacqueline holding it desperately, total panic and regret plastered on her fluffy face.

* * *

-=Present time=-

After holding my hand out for a few seconds and looking at his fearful face, I lowered my hand and walked back into my cell. "I will not subject you to the same fate as me." I said quietly while seating myself on the bed within my cell.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're wearing a new generation of my Non-newtonian armor infused clothing. If I were to fire the radiation at your body, the Armor would try to absorb the energy through rigidity and heat gain. The material would be overwhelmed with the heat I'm firing into it, and would cook you alive inside. The suit would begin to melt into your dermis and subdermis, permanently bonding with your body at a cellular level. it's inoperable due to the nature of the armor hardening the instant something hits it."

"I-I thought you wanted us dead?"

"What I just said is far worse than death, and I will not allow anyone else to feel what I have felt."

"T-This happened to you!?" He asked in horrified surprise.

"Yes. It happened almost fo. . . I'm not so sure what I experienced was real anymore. I'm not even sure if this is real, We could be in a simulation and never know, so who's to say what's real and what isn't… Could you just take me to see Judith?"

"Uhh, no." He replied with an ' _are you crazy'_ tone.

"Very well, I will locate her myself, but there might be a few more deaths." I said while standing from the bed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… I'll take you, just don't kill her, okay?" Dunn said while holding out his hands defensively.

"Very well." I answered just as another memory bombarded my mind.

* * *

-=Six years ago=-

"I can read your thoughts silly... But that's not the only thing I can do." Aleksandra said in a silky tone. I paid no mind to the way she said it, but that changed when one of her hands dipped below my waistline and gave a firm squeeze.

"Wow, I don't want to be putting out the wrong vibes here. I'm not interested. Flattered, yes. But not interested." I said while holding out my hands defensively.

"I know, but you see, I'm interested." She said while walking towards me with her massive wings spread out. I continued to back away in an attempt to talk her out of whatever was planned under that half lidded smile, but that ship sank the instant it hit the water.

Aleksandra leapt forward with an inhuman speed, pinning me on the ground with my arms above my head, just like when I went blind a few minutes ago. "Please don't." I said in a whimper "I-I love Jacqueline."

"Don't worry, I can make you forget all about her, and then it'll be just you… and me." She said while trailing a hand down my chest.

"No, Don't Do This!… Please don't do this."

"There, ya-see! He's modest and committed to the one he loves, are you done yet!?" She shouted out into the empty field while standing up. I didn't move an inch from being frozen with fear and tears. Not the same kind as before, but from fear of being helpless.

* * *

-=Present time=-

What I had just witnessed within my mind caused me to halt instantly. "Hey, watch where you're going." S.F.C Hawkins complained while bumping into me. I didn't respond other than a slight shuffle towards the wall on my left.

I was too focused on the task in my mind. Did I really have a relationship with the animal that murdered my daughter? Every single memory I was experiencing with her being mentioned was one of good moral fiber. She wasn't some logical being like me, but a caring and lighthearted Snow leopard that always seemed to follow me around. The more I thought about the memories, the more I thought about what had really happened to me through the past six years. All I remember was watching Jacqueline putting a gun to my daughter's head and pulling the trigger. The next thing I knew it, I was on that table with Judith hovering over me, and the same cat standing all giddy to my left.

"Hey, you okay?" Dunn asked while holding onto my shoulder. I instantly stared at his hand on my shoulder, and it got the message across pretty quickly.

"NO DUNN, I'M NOT OKAY!" I shouted at him, causing a jump in surprise from all four of Judith's private guard. "I'm not sure what's real and what isn't anymore! How can I know if this is the real life, or just a fantasy! It's like I'm caught in a landslide with no escape from reality!" I said with frustration.

"Did your really just do that?" Sergeant Dotson asked with a flat expression.

"Did I just do what?" I snipped back.

"Nevermind." He answered.

I began to pace back and forth in the hallway, trying to determine how I would prove what really happened in my memories. _I could see if Bunnyburrow is still there… No that could be simulated too._ "I GOT IT!" I shouted in realization before sprinting towards the main hall of the gravity ring. The four specially trained soldiers attempted to stay in pursuit, using every ability their Exoskeleton suits had to offer. It all was for not due to my immense stamina training I had… before… the war. It had been six years since the Human/Thargoid war, and my stamina had decreased significantly since then. It had almost dropped to zero after the Baal-hermon explosion, yet here I was, outrunning special forces with ease. This could have also been accounted for in a simulation, but just around the corner had irrefutable proof of what really happened to me.

I took an abrupt right handed turn into a room labeled C.S.S. This was the Computer simulations section, which was identical to the room I was raised in. Upon entering the room, I closed the blast door and shorted out the electrical systems controlling it. Hearing shouting on the other side of the door about some kind of ram, I began my search of the computer systems log records.

 _Simulation status: Online_

 _Simulation map: Solar system of Raxxla_

 _Simulation user log:_

 _Judith F. Crawford. Time elapsed in system: one month on 10/7/3326_

 _Elliot F. Crawford. Time elapsed in L.T.I.C: Six years, seven months and fifteen days from 6/3/3326 to 10/4/3326. Subject Log before entry +=+_

" _Hey me, if you're seeing this, it means you've disembarked from Sam. This is set to only activate when our specific triple helix is detected on the keyboard... You must know that what has happened has not happened. My… Our choice to do this was based on when Aleksandra showed Jacqueline six years into the future. I overheard it was unfortunate and I was going to die. This drove us to create a specific simulation that would accurately predict the future. The two parameters are if I do, or do not fulfill my duty as the Galactic tracker, preserving peace through war; Pretty pathetic right. You must know that what happened in there can and will most likely happen if you should not fulfill your duty. I hope we will decide to test the other option, which is to become the Galactic tracker. I also hope to not become that person, for I do not wish to leave Jacqueline alone in her world. PLEASE, if you can, don't leave her alone."_ I said while tears ran down my face.

 **(Kansas: Dust in the wind)**

There was the proof I was looking for, a video created by me stating exactly what had happened and why it happened. I saw it with my eyes, I loved the cat that executed my simulated daughter, and although I wanted nothing more than to take and eye for an eye… She didn't do anything to me.

"What have I done?" I asked myself while sitting at the console that displayed the damning evidence. I had insulted everyone that cared for me in my life, all because I thought I had lived something that was an equivalent to a video game. I began to tumble further and further into regret for what I had said and done, although my sulking was abruptly interrupted by the sound of a massive bang at the blast door.

" _Lesson fifty two."_

" _Lesson One-hundred and sixty-one."_

" _Let us begin lesson Three-hundred and fifty-six."_

Hundreds of thousands of memories began to flood my mind, and I remembered everything I had forgotten. Who I was- _What_ I was, more specifically. I was the being chosen to protect the entire galaxy. I had a gene that would allow amazing feats, copied and pasted into my DNA sequencing over and over until it was over twenty percent of my total Gene sequence. This had led me to madness in the twenty-six physical years I was alive. A being named Zofia, who created all life in the Galaxy had activate this gene in my body. The same being who gave me my triple helix DNA, allowing me to keep my immense Tracker gene percentage while fixing my madness.

I had the power of dozens of trackers before me, all rolled up into one. I could manipulate the very energy responsible for the acceleration of the expansion of the universe. I had the ability to heal wounds in a matter of seconds with Advanced Cellular Regeneration. Gamma radiation could be emitted from my body at any location, or be focused into a highly fatal cone. I could track any living thing within a distance of the diameter of the galaxy up to a few meters, using just my mind. Objects weighing hundreds of pounds could be lifted with my mind, and finally… I could talk directly into someone's mind. With each major category, cam many subcategories, ending in me being more powerful than all four Guardians combined. That is until I realized something. I had given up almost ninety-nine percent of my power in the creation of the dozens of black holes used to defeat the moon sized Thargoid warship hovering above Earth. I had no Idea what I could still do, and I would take years to return to my original state without the energy I once had imbued into my body.

"Get on the ground right now, Elliot!" Dunn shouted from the hole made in the blast door.

"I remember now." I mumbled while remaining seated.

"FIRE!" He shouted just as someone with a munitions weapons squeezed off a round, which was aimed at my leg. The copper and steel bullet was stopped mid air by my P.K ability, causing wide eyes all around. ( **P** sycho **k** inetics)

"William." I said gently while standing up. "I remember what happened, who I am and why I entered the simulation." I said while slowly walking across the room.

"I can't take the chance you're lying. It could jeopardize the entire ship with how skilled you are." He replied while deploying a set of beam lasers above his head, which looked almost identical to the ones on my Wingsuit.

"Set them to Stun William. Just make sure to tell Jacqueline this. While I remember who I am, and regret what I have said to you. It will take me time to become comfortable around you. If Judith hasn't told you already, or if you forgot. I watched you murder my daughter just feet away from me, and I was helpless to save her. So please understand that I will try to repair our standing, but it will take time. Just like you said, now and forever, I will _always_ love you, my fluffy kitty." I said softly just before Dunn sent me into darkness via two orange beams of light.

* * *

 **A/N: Reviews are highly appreciated, you already spent a fair amount of time reading the chapter, why not take a few more seconds to leave me some feedback.**


	6. Chapter 6: A Fresh Start

**_Authors note: First things first, thank you Merecor for helping me decide the plot line. Second, I'd like to thank the rest of you for leaving reviews, they really let me know what's good and what's not._**

* * *

 _Chapter Six: A Fresh Start_

 _Hard is trying to rebuild yourself, piece by piece, with no instruction book, and no clue as to where all the important bits are supposed to go._

* * *

Darkness, it seems to be where I'm spending a lot of my time lately.

Locked into a tank of blue Jello, held in a cell with minor amounts of light for most of the day, and finally sent into unconsciousness from a special wavelength of light. What was I supposed to do? Fight back, shatter all chances of trust that could be re-established between the people I called family. No, I had to make myself vulnerable to them, allow them to think I was under control and incapacitated. While I might have remembered who I was, that didn't take away the memories of what happened in the simulation. It was for that reason I allowed Lieutenant Dunn to disable my body.

I was currently in pitch darkness with all four limbs restrained and covered in something. Whatever it was, put a massive drain on my Genetic abilities, far more draining that the containment pods from universe one. With all of my strength, I was just capable to _enable_ my **E** xtra **S** ensory **P** erception, which allowed me to go anywhere and see anything I wanted to without the need to actually go there; I could use this in conjunction with my Psychokinetics and Telepathy to appear in front of someone, interact with things around them, and talk directly into their minds. It would seem like I was standing right in front of them, yet I could be hundreds of thousands of lightyears away.

I began to look around the room using my E.S.P, seeing my own body completely encased in a metal coffin with limb slots. The room wasn't actually dark, it was just the contraption I was being held in. Attached to the silver, body coffin was hundreds of cables varying in size from a few millimeters, to a few inches in diameter. The cables ran up to the ceiling, eventually coming back down at consoles dispersed around the square shaped room. Each of the eight consoles housed multiple monitors, which displayed all sorts of data, ranging from vitals to energy output and draw.

 _Are they harvesting my energy?_

I leaned over one of the chairs where a technician was seated, and began reading more thoroughly on what they were doing to me; It appeared the only way Judith theorized I would be contained was to drain my body of alpha and beta waves, completely immobilizing all cognitive thought processes. This brought my blood to a rolling boil in an instan;. She very well knew that doing such a thing could possibly leave me a vegetable forever, yet Judith did it anyway.

"Be advised, heat rate has increased thirty beats per minute. Epinephrine levels rising fifteen percent, recommend counter-stimulant." The man in front of me said to another across the room.

"Granted, administer two CC's of GABA per second until reaction is produced." The other technician replied.

"Copy, administering neuroinhibitor." The man in front of me said while pressing a few buttons of the panel in front of me.

This was taking it too far for me. I had apologized and everything, yet I was about to become a temporary vegetable all because my brain started releasing a chemical responsible for anger. With that in mind, I dashed to the cables on the outside of the coffin I was being restrained in, and began ripping them from their attachment points with my psychokinetics ability. The instant the first large tube was pulled from the machine, two of my long lost friends phased into view through a light sucking singularity that formed within the room.

"Hey, you think we're fucked?" The technician responsible asked the others around the room, who were all staring with wide eyes.

"Elliot, If you relax your body, we will protect you from what's coming, we owe you this much. If you do not, that tells us you wish to fight this battle on your own." The Guardian wearing a white toga with a red diagonal stripe said gently. This instantly reminded me of what happened in the simulation.

"Did… Did you try to protect me in the-"

"Yes." She replied.

I began to debate what I should do for the next few seconds, deciding on letting them save me. I stopped resisting the drain on my body, and let my mind go blank. I was in the pitch darkness again, but this time it was comforting.

"You're safe now." The Guardian whispered into my ear while my sight was slowly being restored. I was being cradled by the Guardian of Terra, the one who started this whole thing; Aleksandra had taught me everything I knew about my mental abilities and physics manipulation.

"It's been a while for you hasn't it." The other Guardian said. She was wearing a white toga with a green sash running across her body; Claramond was the Guardian of the long extinct people of Lunov, and master of Advanced Cellular Regeneration.

"Where's the other two?" I asked weakly.

"Fetching the ones responsible for _this."_ Aleksandra said while gesturing to the partially dismantled restraint system.

"Don't hurt them." I whispered.

"But look at what they did to you. Without my power, you would have been reduced to a soul-less body." Claramond said.

"Speaking of power, do you mind finishing the job? I still feel like crap."

"Sure thing you sexy human." She said while resting her hands on my chest. Within a few seconds, white particles of light started swirling around my body, indicating that the A.C.R was doing its' job. By the time the white particles had dissipated into thin air, I was feeling much better. Once I stood up, something crossed my mind.

"Aleksandra, you can see into the future. Was the computer accurate?" I asked with hopefully vain apprehension.

"Should the presets be met. . . Yes, almost right down to the letter." Aleksandra replied solemnly while tucking her large, brown, Eagle like wings against her back.

"Okay. Well, I have six years to come up with a plan, and I know things I shouldn't, so that gives me some ammount of an advan-"

"SON OF A BITCH!" I heard being yelled down the hall, followed by Judith being brought in forcefully.

A few seconds passed in silence while I saw Judith and Denton Paterus thrust to their knees in front of me. Each of the two were being held at the shoulders by a Guardian, who had highly pissed expression on their faces. Denton put up no resistance, whereas Judith struggled furiously while muttering profanities.

"Judith Crawford and Denton Paterus." Dahlia, the Guardian wearing a white toga with a yellow sash, said while holding onto Judith's shoulders. "You are being charged with the involuntary action of mentally paralyzing the Galactic Tracker, how do you plea?" She asked with a tone so sharp it could cut steel.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She replied while trying to escape. Meanwhile, Denton silently looked into my eyes with regret and sorrow.

"You may not know him a such names. Perhaps Elliot Crawford would mean something more." Dahlia said.

"Judith, how could you do that to me?" I asked quietly, which caused her body to instantly stiffen up, and her green eyes to meet with mine.

"It wasn't going to do that." She answered.

"It already DID!" Aleksandra shouted, causing a visible jump from the HDF leader. "If Clara wasn't here, you'd be looking at a brain-dead body right now!"

"No, it-it was just supposed-"

"Yeah well that didn't work out so well, now did it." Dahlia interrupted.

There was a long silence between everyone in the room, one that was broken by the collected voice of Denton Paterus. "For thirty years now, I have been wondering if the rumors on legends were true. I now know I'm kneeling in front of the most powerful beings in the galaxy, one of which I tortured for five years. For that I am sorry. . . I'm now ready to die." He said while closing his eyes.

"By your command." Dahlia said while swapping places with Maroth, the Guardian with a blue sash running down her toga. Once Maroth had a good grip on Judith, Dahlia began to form a ball of dark energy in her hands. Upon firing the energy at the elderly man, I redirected the energy into my body for later use. This action was answered by a questioning stare from all four Guardians.

"Let them go. All I wish to do is set things right. I thank you all for rescuing me, but this will not restore my previous relations. If all of you except Clara would go, I would appreciate it." I said, earning a nod from three of the four Guardians while they phased into thin air.

"Elliot, I was sure all that would happen was you being incapacitated." Judith blurted through forming tears.

"Hey, you did have the incapacitated part right." I said with a slight chuckle.

"Not funny." Judith replied as she stumbled to her feet. "I'm so sorry, I just needed to assure the ship's safety."

"Come here." I said with outstretched arms that were quickly filled. "Even though I'm still apprehensive about you and Jacqueline, I will try my best to act normal around you two." I said while looking at Denton, who had started asking questions faster than Claramond could answer them. Something I hadn't noticed until now, was all eight technicians were still standing right beside their computer screens. Ignoring this fact, I pulled Judith from my hug, and gestured her toward the door.

She began leading me through one of the two gravity rings with Claramond trailing very close behind. As we walked, all actions being done by the crew were abruptly replaced by staring at the woman with straight, midnight blue hair running to her waist. Massive feathered wings of multiple midnight blue shades, a green striped toga, and blue eyes. On a few occasions someone asked what she was. This was met with a deathly glare from a nicely mannered question, or a palm strike that sent the person across the room from a not so respective question. One guard even dared to raise his weapon.

Judith led us outside the confines of the gravity ring, and into normal ship corridors, leaving me to use my powers to push my body to one of the four floors. Meanwhile, Judith was fine and dandy with her magnetic shoes, and Claramond was simply holding onto one of my shoulders out of pure laziness. We walked, and walked, and walked some more.

"Wow, I never really realized how big the Farragut interdictors are."

"Yeah, we're just walking to the other G-ring, Imagine getting to the forward hangar bays." She replied.

"I'm sure you have omni-directional elevators for that… I have a question if you don't mind." I said while halting my walking.

"Sure." Judith replied.

"Why are you leading us in circles?"

"Quit being so paranoid." She replied while continuing to walk forward.

"Judith, I'm officially omni-present, I can see my own body walking down the same halls. Now where are you taking me?" I asked sternly while creating a sphere of Gamma radiation infused Dark energy; This gave the light-sucking ball of dark energy a dancing, orange-ish pattern of light, which closely resembled the shape of lightning.

"AH-HA, I knew you could do that!" She exclaimed while pulling a data pad of some kind out of a pocket.

"Are you serious, you wanted to see me do that?" I asked while searching her mind for dis-truthfulness.

"Yeah, I didn't think your would just make one for me if I just asked. Now don't move." She said while moving a hypodermic needle towards the energy. "I made sure that this would avoid physical contact with the energy, so it shouldn't detonate while I'm extracting a sample."

"Oh, just give the container to me." I said while absorbing the energy into my hands. When she held out the cylinder to store the energy, I moved my hands on either side of the clear tube. "With or without the radiation enhancement?"

"Without please." With that utterance, I created a tennis ball sized blob of the energy within the containment tube.

"This isn't a very good start for fixing our trust." I said with irritation.

"Maybe this will help." She softly said while gesturing behind me. Once I turned around, my eyes widened and became filled with tears in a matter of seconds.

"Hey Elliot." Jacqueline said while waving nervously. My only response was walking toward her while attempting to hold in my tears. At about five feet away, Jacqueline started nervously backing away from me, although she didn't get more than a step before I lifted her paws off the floor with my P.K. "E-Elliot?" She asked with nervousness.

"I'm s-sorry for saying that to you." I said while clinging onto the Snow leopard. "You didn't d-do anything to me, and I-I treated you like _dirt_." I whimpered into her shoulder. After a few seconds, I began to feel her paws run across my back, which at first made me tense up from bad memories, but eventually gave me a sense of warmth on the inside. Jacqueline began to squeeze tighter and tighter, eventually incorporating her tail to hold me.

"I forgive you." She whispered into my ear. "You always be the one I cherish most, and no one will ever take that away." Jacqueline whispered, which turned into a fading echo.

 _"If you don't put your weapons down… Elliot, I will be forced to take the one you cherish most." Jacqueline said._

 _"What are you talking about?" I asked with a failing facade._

 _"I'll admit, you trained her perfectly. She killed over forty-five of my best soldiers, but everyone runs out of ammunition." She replied while Ella was brought around the corner._

"AHH!" I shrieked while throwing Jacqueline to the floor, and creating a Dark energy knife in my hand.

"ELLIOT NO!" Judith shouted from my right.

"What?" I asked with confusion while looking around my surroundings, then towards the terrified Snow leopard below me. The second it hit me, I pushed myself up from the floor, and into the center of the gravity free hallway, where I began to mutter the same two words over and over. "I'm sorry." I curled myself into a small ball and wanted to be anywhere but there.

" _If you wish, I can take you to the Lunovians while you collect yourself."_ Claramond said directly into my head.

"Yes please." I whimpered.

"Yes please, what!?" Judith asked.

Through the small crack in my knees, I could see Claramond forming a singularity in the hallway. I then felt her gently grasp my body, and pull it towards the portal. The second I entered the wormhole, I had flashbacks of the first time I went through a transportation system of similar concept. For me it was almost seven years ago, but in reality it was only a few months. The feeling was the same, a complete inability to feel or move my legs, and nothing but darkness.

"Aww, shit. I muttered while being thrust to the ground on the other side of the wormhole. When I looked back up to the singularity, It was void of all color for a few seconds. Once those precious moments were up, it began flashing all colors of light… And she came through. "No… NO! You can't be HERE!" I shouted at the cat while stumbling towards the Lunovian camp I within visual distance.

"Onogada! Bamba le noboya embozwe elilodwa!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. "This is for your own good, right now I'm not going to be stable around you." I said while backing away from Jacqueline. The second I heard the sounds of chainmail armor clinking, I added onto my command. "Ningawulimazi wakhe!" I shouted.

Jacqueline looked at me with her ears pinned to her head for a few seconds, but began sprinting away from the Blue-furred, cat like people known as the lunovians; They were more human like than the Raxxlan's, but still possessed cat-like features. About a dozen of the lunovian foot soldiers wearing chainmail and wielding double edged swords ran past me in pursuit of Jacqueline.

"UMvikeli, kuhle ukukubona futhi." _Protector, it is good to see you again._ A lunovian elder said from behind me.

"I wish it was under better circumstances." I replied in their language. "Would you please show me to a guest room, and get me something to drink?" I asked while slightly stumbling with my steps toward the elder. The second he noticed my gait, I found my shoulder being supported by the Lunovian. He helped me into the village surrounded by a now completed palisade wall, and I was met by a few dozen hello's from the townsfolk. We eventually arrived at one of the log cabin homes, and he showed me where I would sleep for the duration I was staying.

"So, how are things going here?" I asked while laying down on a bed covered with animal skins.

"Our numbers have grown to a few hundred, and we're discussing building another wall for more housing and crops."

"You do know there is no danger of attack here. I've told you this already." I replied.

"Yes, but when we are returned to our home, we must be ready to defend ourselves." He said while handing me a cup of water. "I've never seen you here with another before, who was that female that we're chasing?"

"It's a very long and complicated story. But put simply, I watched her kill my daughter, but she didn't kill my daughter."

"… Could you explain it better? I do not understand." The Lunovian asked while seating himself a few feet away.

"Okay, Imagine two of her standing in front of you. One of them kills my daughter, while the other does not."

"I think I understand now. You are having a hard time accepting she isn't at fault."

"You got it." I replied in a whine.

"… Have you found a mate yet?"

"Wow Xassisia, you really know how to keep a conversation going." I said with a laugh.

"I bring it up because many of the maidens talk about what they would-"

"I don't need you to finish that sentence." I interrupted with a shiver.

"Just saying. You act like a young boy when it comes to women and mating, why is that?"

"Never had time to learn or experience it." I replied flatly.

"That is truly a shame. Let me tell you, the feeling when you put-"

"Xassisia, Just no." I said sternly.

"Sir, we have captured the Spotted one, and tied her up at the stake." A foot soldier blurted from outside the cabin.

"Release her, but don't let her leave!" I yelled to the Lunovian outside.

"Yes Protector." He replied.

"Oh my, I wondered what that smell was. That creature has marked you as hers." Xassisia said with a crease forming on his face.

"Dang-it. I only hugged her for like two minutes."

"It has become clear to me. One does not simply _hug_ for two minutes. You wish to mate with her." Almost instantly my face heated up. "AH-HA, and now your skin turns red just like you said when one of your kind is embarrassed."

"I'm taking my time, okay." I replied uncomfortably while shifting in the bed over and over.

"Just as some advice, when you go through with it, make sure to use-"

"XASSISIA!" I shrieked in embarrassment.

"Okay, okay." He said while holding his hands out defensively. "I'm just trying to help."

"I need some air." I said as I stood from the bed.

"Come on, I was just trying to help."

"I don't want that kind of help!" I shrieked just before shutting the door in his face.

* * *

-=Jacqueline Pov=-

Whatever these blue felines are, they know how to run _fast._ I'm pretty fast, and they caught up to me like nothing _WITH_ all that armor on. Even though they could have easily killed me at the edge of the meadow I had started running through, all they did was bind my paws and escort me into their camp. I had attempted to leave once they released me, but found I wasn't allowed to leave the wooden walls of their town. One of the males that had caught me even offered water in some kind of fur pouch. I drank from it graciously, although drinking from something that used to belong on a living creature was slightly sickening to me. After my drink of water, the same male had taken me to a front porch where I now sat.

"Umama, wukuthi omunye zizivikele abangane?" A small blue kit asked their parent while walking by.

"Angazi." The parent replied.

"Angifuni ukuthi hlobo luni losizo!" I heard being shouted from about a dozen yards to my right. I looked toward the sound and saw Elliot closing a door somewhat forcefully. The moment he turned away from the door, our eyes met, and for some _STUPID_ reason, my body decided to wave at him; I was nervous to be around Elliot, he said sorry, but almost stabbed me with a knife not twenty minutes ago. The closer Elliot came, the more formal the two blue felines stood.

"Ingabe ntombazane engumngane wakho?" The small kit asked, earning a flick in the ear from the parent.

"Ngizama ukuba wakhe ubungane nanoma intombazane, kodwa kuyinselele kimi." Elliot replied while kneeling to the Felines height. This earned a nod from the kit.

"Jacqueline, you should not be here. This place is under the Guardian's protection, and very few beings are allowed to come to this place."

"Me, I didn't follow you. That Female-"

"Woman." He corrected.

"Woman. That woman threw me through the portal." I replied.

"She did, hmm." Elliot said while standing from his kneeling position, followed by creating a massive orb of something between his hands. Once the black ball reached the size of a therapy ball Mammals sit on, he turned it into a beam that fired into space. Not five seconds after his hands no longer contained whatever was in between them, the same woman that threw me into this place showed up, and Elliot started conversing with her in a language I didn't understand. After almost an hour of them arguing in the strange tongue, Elliot huffed in defeat, and slumped his shoulders.

"Come on Jacqueline, let's go for a walk." He said in a downcast mumble.

"You're n-not going t-to… ya-know." I said while making a finger gun with my paw.

"No, We're going to go watch one of the sun's set."

"Oh, okay." I replied while bouncing from the began silently wandering through the town at an excruciatingly slow pace. I _really_ wanted to push him faster, but on account of what happened last time our skin made contact, I just kept quiet. I could tell that inside he was waging a war with his mind, and emotions, presumably about me.

"E-Elliot, are you okay?" I asked while extending a paw to rest on his shoulder, only to pull it back when I realized what I was doing.

"Not really." He answered quietly.

"D-Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Then what do you want to talk about?" I asked with fading enthusiasm.

"Weather we should break up or not."

Almost instant I felt a pit in my stomach, followed by my tail tucking and ears pinning to my head. "W-why?" I asked with a slight choke from my emotions.

"Come on Jacqueline, would you quit doing that." Elliot said with exhausted frustration. "I watched you blow my daughter's head apart. How do you think I'm supposed to cope wi-with that."

"But-but I didn-" I was cut off from my sentence due to Elliot whipping around, and resting his right hand on my forehead.

"If you don't put your weapons down… Elliot, I will be forced to take the one you cherish most." I saw myself say coldly.

"What are you talking about?" Elliot asked with a crack in his pitch.

"I'll admit, you trained her perfectly. She killed over forty-five of my best soldiers, but everyone runs out of ammunition." I said just before the same white fox kit Elliot had drawn over and over was brought around the corner. Elliot was standing next to another human with robotic limbs, and I was holding a small ring in my left paw. _Is that a-_

"Ítan timí mou pou ypiretoún mazí sas. . . Tóra kai gia pánta, tha eínai pánta fílos mou." The man with robotic Limbs said moments before raising his strange gun to fire, successfully shooting whatever it was before being hit in the head and chest by me. I was the target, yet I seemed completely fine and unaffected by the blast. The human on the other hand was missing half his muz-face.

"You have fifteen seconds to call the Superheavy fighter located on Lubrilia. You will also submit the YF-185 jet to us for reverse engineering. If you don't comply." I said calmly while pulling out a pistol and aiming it at The foxes head. "I think you understand."

"Daddy. I'm sorry they got me, I tried, but there were too many." She mumbled while looking at her feet.

"Ella, look at me. You did great, and when we go home I'll get you as much ice cream as you want." Elliot said, which caused a slight wag of the kits tail. How Elliot could give someone happiness in such a grave situation is beyond me.

"Aww, how sweet. You have ten seconds." I said while pulling the hammer back and pressing the gun up to the kits ear canal.

"NO, I-I can't get the ship without Alex's code! I don't know it." Elliot said in fear.

"I don't believe you… Five seconds."

"Ella, Ella look at me!" Elliot commanded with dread, which received an immediate response from Ella. I could already see what was going to happen, and I couldn't help crying.

"FOUR!"

"I will _Always_ love you, my special snowflake."

"THREE!"

"I love you too daddy." She whimpered back.

"TWO!"

"Close y-your eyes Pumpkin."I saw Elliot whimper while falling to his knees.

"ONE!" I shouted with anger, followed by the sound of two boards smacking together. I couldn't bare to look at what Elliot had to suffer through.

 **(A thousand years: Aldy32)**

"Jacqueline, Look at what you did." I heard Elliot say.

"NO! I don't want to!" I shouted back.

"YOU can't even bear to look at someone you never knew, yet you EXPECT me to be okay with WATCHING MY DAUGHTER DIE!" He shouted just as I was brought back into the real world. "I know it wasn't you, but you must know this is almost impossible for me to just, _let go_."

"I-I can maybe help you through it somehow, maybe w-we can-" I said in denial of where Elliot was taking this conversation.

"We can't… I. Can't. Do. It." He said while turning away from me. "Remember a while ago when I told you this might be a bad Idea to fall in love with you. THIS is why."

"NO, I-I-I-I-I can figure out a way t-to help you past it!" I shouted.

"* _Sigh*_ I'm not fixable, you need to understand that. You should jump off my boat before it's lost to the depths of the ocean, not sit there and try to plug the twenty holes with your eight fingers." He said solemnly.

"I don't care if there were fifty holes in your boat, I want to be with you, and I want you to hold me at night, no matter the damage we leave behind us… Please." I said while grabbing one of his fur-less _hands._

"One chance." He said with a grumble. I immediately tried to hug him as tight as I could, but only found myself thrown on the dirt. "You just blew it." Elliot said coldly.

"What NO! NO, that's not fair!" I shouted, while staring up at his face, which started creasing ever so slightly.

"Got you. But in all seriousness, no hugs, no kissing, no touching until I approve of it, or if it's in a non-romantic way."

"Deal, I'll just wear gloves." I replied jokingly.

"Jacqueline, I'm serious. I don't want you touching me right now." He said while pulling me to my paws.

"Oh, uh… sorry."

"NOW, we were going to watch the sun set, shall we depart?" Elliot asked, to which I hummed in response. We began walking through the town again, thankfully at a faster pace than before, and eventually arrived at a tall tower with a ladder going up it. Elliot began climbing, and I followed close behind him. Once we reached the top, my eyes were met with a mixture of orange, yellow, purple, and red in the sky. A tall grass field in front of us, which gave way to an expansive forest, and a mountain range in the very distance. "Now, in about fifteen minutes, that sun will set and another will rise over there." Elliot said while pointing to the opposite horizon.

"Wait, you didn't just mess up the word?"

"Nope. The transition world never sees night, and the lunovians don't sleep here unless they want to. It's quite interesting."

We watched the sun quietly disappear under the mountain peaks in the distance, and as soon as it was gone, Light illuminated the sky from the other direction. We turned around in our chairs and watched the sun come up, giving us a full hour to watch the vibrant colors flood the skies. When I looked over to Elliot, his eyes seemed to be shining the very same color in them. It was beautiful to see his normally blue eyes shine a fiery orange, but then he looked at me.

"Elliot your eyes." I said while holding up a paw to my mouth.

"Yes, they to glow on occasion due to excess amounts of Gamma radiation in my body. I assure you the energy stays in my eyes." He cooed quietly while returning his gaze to the sunrise.

"What causes it?"

"A number of things, but mostly emotional stimulation." He replied casually. I instantly had a flashback from the second night we spent together, and this provoked me to grab his hand.

"What did I say?"

"I knew it, you like holding my hand."

"And how would you know that." Elliot replied calmly while turning his fiery gaze toward my; By fiery, I mean literal _fire_ in his eyes.

"Do you remember the first time we kissed?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Your bioluminescent eyes glowed brighter then, and now these ones do _this_ now." I whispered while leaning in closer.

"That would seem to be the case, wouldn't it." He replied with an ignorant smile.

". . . Elliot." I asked while looking into his orange eyes.

"Yes Jacqueline." He answered while looking into mine.

"I love you a lot." I said from just inches away from his face.

"Is that so?"

" _Mmmhhmmm."_ I answered while pulling away from him, and returning my gaze to the sunrise.

"Ya-know, I was really expecting you to kiss me right then."

" _Oh, well in that case."_ I thought just before planting my muzzle into his cheek, which caused his eyes to become immensely brighter. " _OOOH, I got one in! YES, I kissed HIM!"_

"I let you get one in fluffy kitty." Elliot whispered into my ear.

* * *

 **A/N: Feedback is highly appreciated. I tried to make the ending of this chapter heartwarming, but I don't really think it's my strong suit, so lemme know.**


	7. Chapter 7: Journey Ahead

_Chapter Seven: Journey Ahead_

 _Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us._

* * *

-=Jacqueline Pov=-

"What? I didn't say that." I blurted while looking toward Elliot's glowing face; partially from the sunrise and partially because I kissed him.

"I can see thoughts." Elliot replied with a slight shrug of the shoulders.

After a minute of deliberating whether he was just pulling my paw, I replied. "Can you see what I'm thinking about now?" I asked seductively.

After a few seconds, Elliot started scooting away from me, and I could see the entirety of his face turn red. "Why would you w-want to do that?" He asked bashfully.

"Why are you so childish when it comes to sex?" I countered with sultry in my voice.

"I'm sure I've told you before." He said while scooting a few more inches away.

"Well, please. Do tell again." I said while propping my muzzle up on a paw and staring directly at him.

"I never had time to learn about sex. Yes, I know how it works theoretically. But I know zip when it comes to real experience."

"Come on, I'm sure you've done what every other male did when they were teenagers." I said while scooting closer to him, only to find myself sliding away from what sorta felt like wind.

"Uhh. . . OH, you mean masturbate. Yeah, I remember some of the men under my command joking about that a few times. I never really understood the whole point of it, I mean, seriously. From what I learned, all you do is sit there and waste time that you could be using for something productive, _and_ make a mess that's really difficult to clean up." Elliot said while looking at me with a straight face.

"Heh-heh, that's all you think happens?" I asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Am I wrong?" Elliot replied while the orange, wavy glow in his eyes dissipated.

"Wait-wait-wait. You're serious!?"

"No, I'm just saying random things for no apparent reason." He replied lazily.

"Okay-okay, lemme' get this right. You've _never_ _ever_ touched yourself?"

"Why would I? First, I was way too busy killing millions, and second, it's a waste of time." Elliot answered while standing from his chair, followed by walking to the ladder. Just as he was reaching for the ladder, I grabbed his wrist, almost instantly finding a black laser knife held at my throat. "NO. TOUCHING." Elliot growled as I let go.

"I was just trying to get you to stop." I said while taking a step back.

"Yeah? You could've easily sliced my arteries wide open with those claws of yours." He said in an irked tone while making the black, laser knife disappear into his hands.

"Sorry." I said with my ears pinned. "What's that laser stuff?"

"It's called dark energy. . . Are you coming!?" Elliot shouted from the bottom of the ladder.

"W-what? How did you get down there!?" I shouted to Elliot, who had somehow climbed, like, a thousand ladder steps to get to the bottom.

"Just jump! I'll catch you!" He shouted while looking up at me.

"ARE YOU CRAZY!" I replied just as a breeze pushed me over the edge. Unlike other Mammals, when I'm falling it's completely silent. No loud screams or panicked no's, just silence. The fall was at least a hundred feet up, and even if I used all four of my limbs, I would be badly hurt, or possibly killed from the fall. At around twenty feet from the ground, I felt a massive pressure on every part of my body that was facing the dirt.

"There ya go." Elliot said calmly while holding his hands out towards me.

"Y-you can lift stuff too?" I asked while looking at my body being suspended a few feet off the ground.

"Well yeah, how do you think I got down here so fast?" Elliot said as he started levitating off the ground with me. "I just don't like to lift myself or others, it kind makes the person look possessed or something." He added while I was lowered to the ground.

"Y-you just saved my life." I said thankfully.

"What? You jumped like I said to, right?"

"No, I was blown off the ledge." I corrected while launching into Elliot for a hug. Just before I had my arms around him, I was thrown over his back, and onto the ground with a painful thud.

"What did I say about physical contact?" Elliot asked in annoyance. "You are THIS FAR from making me walk away." He said in a suppressed anger, just before storming off in a seemingly random direction. I, of course, started following him throughout the village.

As we walked, I noticed that every single one of the lunovian's slightly bowed when Elliot walked by. Sure, they might know he was important on Earth, but this was taking it a bit far. Nevertheless, I found it quite attractive that he earned such high amounts of respect from these Mammals, " _No these are people_." I mentally corrected. Occasionally, Elliot would stop, and talk with one of the people for a brief time; I couldn't understand their language, but I still made out the compassion in his voice while he talked.

"Ingabe uhamba ezinyathelweni kuMvikeli?" I heard a young voice say behind me.

"Uhh, I don't speak whatever you do." I replied while looking at the small Lunovian girl dressed in green pants and a blue shirt.

"Yena is bephunyuka." The girl whispered while pointing in the direction of Elliot, who wasn't there anymore.

"Shit." I muttered while jogging to the intersection I last saw him. Once I reached the three-way path, I began scanning the lightly trafficked roads. "There you are." I mumbled while watching Elliot talk to someone else at the main gate, followed by him leaving the perimeter. When I approached the exit guarded by several males wearing this strange chain link armor, they simply stood and watched me. I slowly inched closer to the threshold of the large exit, and they clearly understood what I was trying to do.

"You are now free to come and go as you please." One of them said as he gestured to the field outside.

"You can understand me?" I asked in surprise.

"Uhh... Uthola noma iyiphi yaleyo?" The male said to another right next to him, who nodded _no_ in response.

Ignoring the oddity of him being able to perfectly say one sentence, but nothing else; I began following the smell of Elliot outside the village/town thing. He was walking in the direction of the mountain range where the sun had set, and I didn't know if his plan was to reach the mountain in the distance, or something along that trajectory. Although I still couldn't see him, the wind was in my favor, blowing his smell directly at me. With a clear knowledge of where Elliot was, I started running on all fours through the tall grass of the meadow, which eventually gave way to an expansive forest of green trees, bushes here and there, and grass everywhere. As I ran on the forest floor, I heard the sounds of all sorts of wildlife I had never heard before; Some sounds I recognized as birds, but others were completely foreign to me.

After almost an hour of running, I was forced to stop due to heat exhaustion from my fur. I couldn't grasp how Elliot was capable of staying in front of me this entire time when I was running at almost twenty-five miles an hour. The last time I chased him it was easy to keep up with the slow and lethargic human through the woods near Bunnyburrow. We had run what seemed like thirty miles, which was fairly difficult for me, but left Elliot completely exhausted; The large laceration in his side probably didn't help the situation.

When I stopped, I found total silence par for the trickle of a stream, and the sound of wind blowing through the trees above. All the sounds of wildlife had disappeared, only to be replace with desolate silence; The moment I started observing my surroundings, I felt like something was watching me from the bushes, the trees, the ground. Absolutely everywhere felt like it was watching me.

"Jaaaaccccqqqquuullliinnneeee." Was said in a creepy whisper that seemed to be carried on the wind. AND BOOM, It was almost too dark for me to see anything more that shapes; This turned my exhausted panting into a fearful hyperventilating. Once my eyes adjusted to the light, I could see just fine, which some could argue would make the situation _much, much_ worse. I kept seeing these shadowy figures rocket from one tree to another, coming into view for just a moment, only to vanishing entirely. The entire time I was attempting to locate these figures, two things raced through my mind; Run, and find Elliot. When I began sniffing for his scent again, I only found the pungent smell of infected wound.

"ELLIOT!" I screamed at the top of my lungs out of fear for my life.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

Nearly half an hour of walking in peace and silence went by without interruption. I was headed to the Guardian's house located deep within the forested area to the east of the Lunovian camp. My plan was to get ahold of Rachel, the replacement Scout of the galaxy; She had told me it was a temporary arrangement at first, but found out she was the new Scout. Normally, I would just contact her with my E.S.P, but I couldn't locate her DNA within the galaxy. I was hoping the Looking Glass would provide the extra power needed to see the Light brown haired being. Although the memories were distant for me, it had only been a few months since I was scared out of my mind in this forest.

Just as the cabin was in sight, I heard a muffled scream calling for me in the distance. "I swear if ANY of you try to scare me again, I'm going to kill you all several times!" I shouted in anger while turning in the direction of the scream. At first, I thought it was one of the Guardians being obnoxious as usual. But when I saw Jacqueline curled up into a ball on the ground, I realized that was not the case. Ignoring the fact that she had been following me, I rolled the cat onto her back, and forced her eyes open. The moment those eyelids opened, I just about shit myself; The whites of her eyes had been turned to black, her normally light blue iris was a dark yellow, and her pupils were completely dilated.

"Hello Crawford." She said out of the blue from the supine position.

"What happened to you?" I asked while attempting to read her memories, only finding they were non-existent.

"I'm hurt, how could you forget your favorite Scout?" Jacqueline said while holding a paw up to her heart, causing me to stand up and take several steps back.

"Those… Whatever they were, took you in Universe one." I replied with growing apprehension.

"They did do that, didn't they?" Jacqueline said while holding a finger up to her muzzle. "Well, they're dead now, and so will Jacqueline if you don't do exactly what I say."

"Don't you know what happened to me? It's been almost seven years, three of which I raised a daughter in-"

"And Jacqueline killed her. That really is too bad Crawford. But we both know you still love her, even if you don't want to admit it." Jacqueline said with a smile.

I began thinking at a million miles an hour for a way to defeat the Scout, and save Jacqueline. "… What do want me to do?" I asked in defeat.

"Bring me Claramond alive."

"Why?"

The possessed body of Jacqueline began clicking her tongue before replying. "Now why would I tell you that? Don't answer, just go get her… Oh, and you have five minutes." She added on with a smile that exposed Pearly white fangs.

"I really hate you." I said just before contacting Claramond with my E.S.P.

"Yeah, Elliot." She said while appearing in thin air.

"Daughter." Jacqueline said while glaring at Claramond with arms crossed.

"I'm sorry Jacq-Shhhhhhhiiiiiiiiitttt." She muttered upon seeing Jacqueline's altered eyes. "Elliot, did-did you-"

"No, he didn't. I escaped that horrible pace, and now I need another body… Get to work."

"Hold up." I interjected. "You can make a whole body?" I asked Claramond.

"Mayyybbbeee." She replied with a sheepish shrug.

"I designed you, and I very well know you can. Either you will do it, or I will take your body and do it myself." Jacqueline said.

"Okay, I'm going mom." Claramond replied while dropping to both of her knees and holding out her hands.

"You're such a great parent Zoifa, just _top notch."_ I said with spite.

"Stuff it Terran." Jacqueline snipped.

After nearly three hours of watching Claramond generate the white particles of light in a density I hadn't ever seen before, the light subsided to reveal a lifeless body of Zofia, birthday suit and all. After Seeing Jacqueline's possessed body smile, She collapsed onto the ground at the same time Zofia's new body opened her eyes. I immediately generated a High intensity energy burst of energy which would closely match a full sized quasar pulse Unfortunately, this would destroy the entire planet and everything on it, including the Guardians; That might seem completely unreasonable to do such a thing, but you don't know the capabilities of Zofia. The instant I felt energy firing from my hands, I felt a prickling feeling all throughout my body.

"Why thank you Crawford, that was just enough energy to restore a third of my power." Zofia said while standing up, simultaneously I was falling to my knees.

"You played me." I said weakly while falling the rest of the way to the dirt.

"Like a drum Terran. I don't understand why you can't grasp the concept of me being far too powerful for you.. maybe this will get it across." She said while resting a hand on my heaving chest. I looked down to her hand, and saw an orange glow emanating from my chest. The light kept getting brighter, and it started causing a dizzying feeling in my head.

"Consider yourself human, Crawford. I've just removed everything that made you the Galactic tracker, and everything that made you special in any way." Zofia said with a sinister smile as she retracted her hand from my chest. "Daughter, you will tell the rest of what happened, and should any of you try to stop what is coming... You will all suffer the same fate as him." She said while pointing to me just before vanishing into a cloud of fiery embers.

"Aww, _cough, cough._ I done fucked it up real bad." I said in a hoarse voice.

* * *

 **A/N: Short chapter, I know. It was the right spot to leave it off at though.**


	8. Chapter 8: Home

_**Authors note: For you few Romanians that read this, I suppose you get a bit extra information if my translations don't absolutely suck.**_

* * *

 _Chapter Eight: Home_

 _He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home._

* * *

"No, it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known she would do that." Claramond said while kneeling next to my chest, followed by laying her hands on me.

"Did I really lose my power?" I asked grimly.

"I-I think you did. You have a double helix again, and I can't see a single nucleotide pertaining to the Tracker Gene." Claramond replied.

"Check on Jacqueline." I said while pushing her hands away from me. Once Claramond nodded, I began to think of a plan on how to beat Zofia once and for all. She absorbed all my power, which was enough to defeat all four guardians combined, and withstand Rachel's power for a few minutes; Zofia would surely grow more powerful as time went on. I was pulling a blank, more powerful, better informed, unknown location, just about every disadvantage was stacked against us.

"Jacqueline's okay Elliot. She's a bit shaken up, but otherwise fine." Claramond said while looking up from the supine feline.

"I-I don't know what to do Clara. I'm powerless, literally… And she's only going to-" My sentence was interrupted by four lightless vortexes from which the other Guardians, and Rachel emerged.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Akeksandra, the Guardian with a red striped toga and brown wings asked.

"I lost my power." I replied quietly.

"What, HOW!?" Rachel, the Scout of the galaxy who wore a purple striped toga demanded.

"Our mom escaped from the core and forced me to make her a new body." Claramond answered for me, which I was thankful for. Just when I tried to sit up, I found my body being forced down by Rachel.

"What are you doing? We need to stop Zofia before she can grow in power." I said while struggling against Rachel's hand.

"How much effort are you putting into escape?" She asked seriously.

"All of it!" I answered with a strained voice.

"Oh my, Zofia really took everything, didn't she." Claramond said while looking from Jacqueline's position. This worried me, what else could Zofia have taken.

"Elliot, do you by chance feel weak right now?" Rachel asked with worrisome eyes.

"Well yeah, you're a Scout. You can lift, like five-thousand pounds, of course I'm weak." I snipped from feeling insulted.

"I know you won't like what I'm about to say-"

"Then don't say it and let me stand up!" I interrupted with building annoyance.

"Elliot, she changed your muscle density." Claramond said while kneeling next to my right side.

"no." I mumbled in denial just before struggling to get out from under Rachel's grasp. "Let. Me. Go." I demanded with a strained voice from effortlessly being held down.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" I screamed in a mixture of fear, and anger. Finally, Rachel lifted her hands from my body and backed away. By the time I was standing, my eyes were glossed over and bloodshot from tears. "I don't want any of you to come near me." I warned in a hoarse voice as I back stepped from the five astral beings, who all looked on with pity.

"Elliot?" Jacqueline said from behind me, which caused a startled jump on my part. When my head whipped around, her normal blue eyes had returned.

"Stay away from me." I said just before running off in a random direction, only to find myself huffing and puffing a hundred feet in. Nevertheless my state, I continued to move away from everything and everyone as quickly as possible. Once they were out of sight, I found a fallen tree to curl up against, where I proceeded to howl with the force of someone vomiting. All my life I was told defeat was unacceptable, that death was a better option, and when you've been alive for the equivalent of sixteen score, something like that means a lot to you.

I single handedly gave the most dangerous being in this universe exactly what she wanted, and there wasn't a way I could beat her. My memories betrayed me almost continuously, half the time I thought I was married to Jacqueline, and the other half was me remembering what the simulation version of her did. All I wanted was for the pain and suffering to end. All I wanted was a simple life, ANY life other than mine. It was like every option I could choose in life was the short straw.

"Elliot." Jacqueline cooed from a few meters away.

"Go away." I replied in between _hic's_ in my weeping.

"Vă rugăm să vorbesc limba mea, eu nu sunt bine cu a ta." She mumbled softly. The words sounded familiar, yet I couldn't understand a word of it.

Ignoring my curiosity, albeit slight, I curled up tighter in a ball against the fallen tree in hopes she would leave. Just when I thought her footsteps disappeared, I felt pulling on my shoulders in an attempt to sight me upright. "Sunt aici pentru tine, nu trebuie să treacă prin asta singur." Jacqueline said as she curled her tail around my back and chest. I tried to push myself away, although it only evented in her holding me tighter.

"I'm a failure." I mumbled through my tears. It was true, I had completely failed the most important job anyone could have.

After a few seconds, I felt Jacqueline flick me really hard on the back of the head. "Nu ești un eșec, tu ești om fără păr meu!" Jacqueline said in a scolding tone, followed by resting her head on my shoulder. "Si nu se poate obține vreodată departe."

"I can't understand you!" I shouted in frustration, which caused an abrupt halt in my crying.

"You… Are… Mine… Forever." Jacqueline whispered into my ear, which half irked and half softened me; I wanted so badly to enjoy us sitting together, side by side, however the memory of Jacqueline's computer version still haunted my mind.

"I kiss you now?"

"No." I said while shaking my head. "This is too much already." I added while looking toward the spotted Leopard. Her response was returning the gaze into my eyes for a few seconds, followed by pulling my shoulders until I was laying on my back with my head in Jacqueline's lap.

"Is this better?" She asked while drooping her head within a few inches of my face.

"N-no." I replied as my face turned bright red.

"I kiss you anyway." She whispered with a half lidded smile.

"It's time to go Elliot." Rachel interrupted directly into my head just before appearing through a cloud of fiery embers.

"Go where? And why don't I understand Jacqueline anymore?" I asked as I sat up from Jacqueline's lap.

"Zofia took _everything_ that made you special. Strength, reflexes, linguistics, DNA enhancements, all of it, and I don't know how to fix you… You're no longer the Galactic tracker, and you are no longer welcome here." Rachel answered without emotion present.

This brought me to my feet. "What!? You're just throwing me away!" I shouted as another wave of tears was nearing the bend.

"That's not what I said." Rachel said while extending a hand.

"Then what did you say!? Cuz' it sounded a lot like, I gave all and you took all." I said with a single step forward.

"You can't be here anymore, I'm sending you two back to The Messenger."

"You're just like the federation." I said in horror, tears now coming forth in torrents.

"Elliot."

"NO! You're just like the fucks that killed my parents! . . . I never want to see any of your faces again." I said as a void portal opened.

-=3rd Pov=-

The moment Elliot finished his sentence, he walked into the wormhole that would take them both to the HDF Farragut Interdictor. Jacqueline looked towards Rachel with disgust, flattened ears, and a furiously wagging tail, while she too walked into the vortex. Once the light-less portal closed, Rachel began chuckled a few times before bursting into a long laugh. Mid laugh, her body began emitting burning embers, which dissolved her body until the only thing left was another person… Zofia.

"Oh, that stupid Terran, always believing everything his eyes show him." Zofia said while walking in the direction of the Guardians home.

The whirring vortex Zofia created took Elliot and Jacqueline directly to Judith's quarters, where she currently slept. "I can't believe them!" Elliot shouted in frustration as he attempted to see in the dark environment.

"It was Elliot, I swear." Judith mumbled while sitting upright in her bed. Just when she flicked the lights on, Jacqueline came through the wormhole with a displeased expression. "Hey you're back." Judith added in a lighthearted tone as she slipped out of the bed. Elliot seemed completely unfazed by what he saw, on the other hand Jacqueline shielded her eyes as her ears turned red.

"Yes, I'm back, and ready to use that dark energy for something very sinister." Elliot said while lightly grabbing Judith by the wrist. "But first… You need some clothes." He whispered into her ear.

"But I just got off my shift." She whined in return.

"Aww, isn't that quaint. I just got my DNA scrambled to the point of me not having any genetic advantages! I JUST LOST EVERYTHING!" He shouted while gripping the air with his hands. "I'm sorry, I've just had a rough day." Elliot mumbled while sitting on the corner of Judith's large bed.

"What could you possibly have done to have all that stuff happen? It's been like four hours." Judith replied as she slid on underpants and a bra.

"The scout of the galaxy… The old one anyway. She escaped her prison as a spirit, possessed Jacqueline, and forced the Lunovian Guardian to make her a new body. Did I mention she's the Guardian's mother, or that she created every intelligent thing in the galaxy." Elliot said in a simmering tone.

"Sorry to seem dumb, but who are the Lunovian's?

"Five-hundred years ago, the Empire of Achenar was just an independent colony, they were reported to have been exterminating a reputability sentient race. The Federation's response was a war party sent to them, and you know the rest."

"So the Empire didn't kill them all?" Judith asked with more confusion than before.

"They tried, but the Guardians moved the remaining Lunovians to a Transition World near Sagittarius A. That's where we were until a few minutes ago."

"Okay, I understand now. So what happened with God?"

"First, she's no God, the devil's more like it… After Zofia entered her new body, I thought I'd be able to destroy her with the equivalent of a Quasar pulse." This utterance widened Judith's green eyes. "She absorbed and converted the energy to regain her powers. With that power running through her new body, and the knowledge she possesses, all it took was a hand on my chest to return my DNA to a double helix with no natural advantages in the coding."

"NOTHING!?" Judith shouted in understanding of the implications Elliot said.

"Everything's gone Judith. My reflexes, stamina, strength. . . All of it's gone." Elliot said while dropping his head in sadness. Jacqueline took notice of this, and saw it as another opportunity to return Elliot to before the simulation, so she sat next to him and started rubbing his back with a paw. Judith, on the other hand, was pacing back and forth around the room with a hand on her chin.

"Elliot, we both know I can give you your natural abilities back, and I know you won't want the mi-"

"Why not." Elliot contradicted. "But after this is all over, I'm going to be changed back."

"Uhh… Okay then." Judith replied in shock. "I'll get the nanobots ready for your immune system." She sad while throwing on a pair of pants and a t-shirt.

"Judith, Zofia tha stamatísei se típota gia na oloklirósei ó, ti stóchos échei programmatisteí. Eísai o mónos állos ypopsífios Galaxiakí Tracker xéro, gi 'aftó min afísete na sas peísei. Allá se kamía períptosi aftó simaínei óti paírnei me ton trópo."

 _Judith, Zofia will stop at nothing to complete whatever goal she has planned. You're the only other Galactic Tracker candidate I know, so don't let her persuade you. But by no means does that mean get in the way._

"Ti gínetai me aftá ta fýlakes?" Judith asked in a worrisome tone.

 _What about those Guardians._

"I Kidemónon den tha mas voithísei, eímaste mónoi mas." Elliot replied.

 _The Guardians won't help us, we're on our own._

-=Elliot Pov=-

"Hey, at least Zofia didn't take what you learned naturally." Judith said in English while sitting next to me.

"I suppose that's true. Do you mind if I crash here until the nanites are ready?"

"An párete to spérma sas se ekeíno to kreváti. Tha prépei na nevriásei." Judith said, which prompted me to smack her in the abdomen. "Heh-heh-heh, too easy Elliot." She said just before shutting the airlock to the room, which left Jacqueline and I sitting in silence.

"What we do now?" Jacqueline asked while ceasing her rubbing of my back.

"What _do_ we do now. Not, _what we do now."_ I corrected.

"Oh, okay… What _do_ you want to do?" Jacqueline asked while scooting behind my back, followed by her draping those fluffy arms over my shoulders.

"Sleep." I replied while standing up and walking to the other side of the bed. "I'm exhausted, but I really need a shower." I whined to myself while examining the dirt covered skin on my arms.

"Shower?" Jacqueline asked with confusion.

"Wash my body." I said while scrubbing my arm with an invisible sponge. "Water falls on you."

"Ohhhhh… Duș. You are taking a shower, tu ești utilizați un duș." Jacqueline said in the Raxxlan language I had known not twenty minutes ago.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be back in a few minutes." I said while looking for the bathroom connected to the bedroom. Once I found the Tub/shower/toilet room, I closed the door, stripped to my birthday suit and turned on the recycled water. Once I was done scrubbing myself of all the dirt and grime built up from whatever it was that made me so dirty, I wrapped one of the many folded robes around my body, and started looking my face over in the mirror. I was still so used to seeing that charred mess of a face from when I was in the simulation, the real thing looked foreign. My scalp was no longer barren, instead it grew uncombed, dark brown hair; I began combing the hair until it was in an Ivy league style. My eyes were once again the comforting sky blue they had been, although something I noticed upon further inspection was a hint of green that reminded me of something.

"Are you done yet? I want shower too." Jacqueline said from the other side of the door.

"Just a minute." I said as I flicked the lights off. With a fair amount of concentration, it had been almost seven years for me after all. My eyes started glowing a dim cyan from my iris. " _Guess she gave my old eyes back as well."_ I thought while making the glow turn to a forest green hue; My old, old, old… wait, too many old's. My second set of eyes had been cloned for me with the added benefit of having bioluminescent cells within the iris's. Why I wanted that at the time was a complete mystery to me now, but it's what I wanted nonetheless.

"All done." I said while stepping out of the bathroom with a giddy smile on my face; Why having my old eyes back made me happy was stupid really. The one's Zofia gave me were better in every sense of the word.

"Why you smiling?" Jacqueline asked with suspicion.

"Why _are_ you smiling." I corrected.

"Whatever. Why are you smiling?"

"Cuz'." I replied like a child as I sat on the right side of the bed. The moment I heard Jacqueline turn the water on, I flicked the light switch and started glowing my eyes; At very low levels of luminosity I could see just fine, but as the brightness increased, my vision decreased; I could even use the light as a reading lamp of sorts, anything higher and I would have vision problems though.

Once I noticed the shower turn off, I stopped my glowing and turned the lights to a low _mood light_ level of brightness; I would still be able to navigate without compromising my _night vision,_ which I almost instantly realized was laughable compared to Jacqueline's.

"What are you doing?" Jacqueline asked from the bathroom threshold.

"Sleeping." I replied as I readjusted the blanket covering me.

"Why on the floor?" She asked while sauntering towards me.

"So you can have the bed." I answered with an eyebrow raised.

"Nonsense, we share the bed like before." Jacqueline said while lifting me clear off the floor.

" _What the FFFFFUUUU-"_ I mentally screamed at the sight of a five foot nine Snow leopard with scrawny arms lifting a one-hundred and eighty pound man clear off the ground with minimal signs of strain.

"No, you will sleep here." She while setting me on the right side of the bed, followed by placing the blanket I was previously wrapped in on the center of the bed. In the time it took for my brain to mentally rack the charging handle, Jacqueline had moved to the other side of the bed, laid down, and turned off the light.

"You're _really_ strong." I said in somewhat nervous amazement; If all my muscle density disappeared, and she was already physically stronger than me, I'd be totally screwed if we fought in real life.

"I do exercise." She replied while shifting in the bed.

Next thing I knew it, her body was pressed up against mine, and the blanket I had yet to pull over myself now sealed all heat in. Her fur was still slightly damp, and it was quite ticklish on my skin. Then I realized something that made my heart start pounding out of my chest.

"W-W-Where are your clothes?" I asked in a stuttering train wreck of nervous words.

"You have them, so I don't need them." Of course I noticed something odd in her speech. NO it wasn't the fact I had a naked feline laying on me, or the part where I only had underwear.

"Why did your speech just improve?"

"Dang it, I really thought I could keep that going longer than it did. You're not the only one that's allowed to use the Simulation." She said while creating about a foot of space between our faces.

"You lied to me?" I asked with dejection, something Jacqueline instantly took notice of.

"No-no-no-no-no-no… It was just supposed to be a joke. Please don't be upset." She said with splayed ears and worrisome eyes.

". . . Just, please no more lying. I've had too much of it for a lifetime." I replied as I shut my eyes. Big mistake.

About two second after my eyes closed, I felt Jacqueline lower towards me, which was followed by wet sandpaper running from in between my clavicle to my throat. "I'm sorry, and I'll make sure _*lick*_ to repay you _*lick*_ In full." She whispered just before nibbling on my ear.

-=Six years ago (for Elliot)=-

"It's not the full color spectrum, but they change from a few shades of blue to a few shades of green… and do this on command." I said while tilting my head towards Jacqueline. After a few seconds, my iris's started to dimly glow blue, increasing in brightness as time went on. "They put bioluminescent cells into my irises, which glow depending on my iris color. Man, you would NOT believe how expensive it was." I said while diffusing the chemical reacting in my eyes.

"Make it come back." Jacqueline ordered.

"Nah, you'll have to beat it out of me, and we both know that'll never happen." I replied smugly. I'm pretty sure Jacqueline thought herself silent, but I could clearly hear her standing up on four feet. Once she primed her stance, I felt the launch of a cat, followed by two feet on my left side and two on my right. "Gonna try and get it out of me anyway, are we?" I asked with a cocky tone.

"Mhmm." She whispered into my ear just before nibbling upon the lobe with one of her carnivorous fangs. Jacqueline trailed her nibbling down the side of my neck, which cause a major increase in my heart rate; That only seemed to egg her on, switching from the neck nibbles to kissing my neck.

"Okay-okay. While I could continue to resist your… _methods,_ I'd prefer to just light up my eyes." I said as my eyes started to glow, only this time in a shade of forest green.

-=Present=-

"Jacqueline, I just remembered what happened in my spaceship."

"Did you now?" She asked in a tone that screamed, _I'm going to do it again._

"Don't do it now. I just might enjoy this if it stays a simple spooning… and you put clothing on."

"Aww, your face is turning red."

"Jacqueline, I'm serious." I replied with more heat rushing into my cheeks.

"You listen good Elliot." Jacqueline asserted while poking my chest with a claw. "I've been waiting nearly six months to be with you, now you're going to lay there and I'm going to snuggle you. Kapeesh?"

"Put some clothes on… Please." I mumbled while pressing my head into the pillow to create more space between us. Jacqueline seemed to be debating with herself from what I could gather; She was still looking directly into my eyes with her gigantic cat saucers, although her face lost all expression just like someone in deep thought. Once she snapped out of her _daze_ I felt her paws feeling around, eventually grabbing both of my hands and bringing them above my head. I only made a brief attempt to escape because of her previous show of strength.

"N-ai idee cât de prost te-am Vrei tu interior mine." She cooed while nibbling on my ear again. Internally, I was having multiple wars, one side said to relax and let it happen, another side said to curl up and cry. There was a third side however, a side that I chose to listen to.

With a straightening of my facial expression and voice, I listed my demands. "I will say this one time before you face the consequences. You will release me, put your clothing on, and return to your quarters; I will do the same." I said as I stared into her saucer eyes with a displeased and stern glare.

"Or what?" She asked while leaning within a few inches of my nose.

"I'll make you." I answered.

"Id like to see you try." Jacqueline said seconds before I rammed my forehead into her cat nose. Just as I predicted, she let go of my wrists to care for her muzzle, which allowed me to elbow strike the side of her head; This completely disoriented Jacqueine's balance, and enabled me to reverse our positions. I first grabbed Jacqueline's left arm, and pulled her paw to my armpit while holding onto her elbow with my right arm. I then trapped her left leg with my right leg. Now that all of her left side ligaments were trapped, I arched my pelvis upward, and simultaneously rolled clockwise to put me in dominant full guard position. Instead of continuing my offensive, I disengaged and ran for the door.

The moment I saw one of Judith's private guard standing outside of the room, it was over. "William!" I shouted at the startled man.

"Yes Admiral." He replied while looking at me with a perplexed face.

"Arrest the Raxxlan female." I ordered while pointing toward the closed airlock.

"What?"

"Do I need to spell it out for you!? _Arrest Jacqueline_!" I shouted. "And get me some damn clothes."

"Right away Admiral." Dunn answered as two beam lasers extracted from his exoskeleton's backpack, being fully deployed above and to the left/right of his head. The muzzle (so to speak) began glowing a dim orange, followed by a brighter red color, which indicated Dunn turned the lasers to a painful setting instead of fatal. I could also see a targeting overlay displaying in his glasses, along with other things I couldn't differentiate without wearing the spectacles.

He walked up to the door, opened it, and rushed it while yelling to get on the floor just like he was trained to. All was going well until I realized he was taking far too long for a simple arrest of one individual.

"Status Lieutenant?" I hollered into the room without sticking my head in the open door.

"Prisoner is getting dressed Admiral. Eta thirty seconds." He shouted in response.

"Elliot, you're over reacting!" Jacqueline shouted with a voice sounding like she had a plugged nose.

"YOU BASICALLY TRIED TO RAPE ME!" I shrieked in response.

When Jacqueline exited the room with cuffs around her wrists, The damage of her nose was quite apparent; Besides the slight crooked appearance, she had dried blood all over her muzzle, as well as small quantities of dried blood where I elbowed her in side of the head. Her facial expression was one of pain and worry, not worry for herself, but for me. Some might say that was selfish to think, but when someone looks directly into your eyes with something that looks like worry and this indescribable emotion, I'd say it pertained to you more than them.

"Elliot, I thought you were just playing along, I-I-I didn't know you were serious."

" _REALLY NOW_ , cuz' I think when someone says I'm serious, they really mean it." I snipped in response as I about faced and walked in the direction of the C.S.S. I completely dismissed the need for more clothing than my compression shorts I put on after my shower, however the purple color wasn't of my choosing. People kept looking at me, then the underwear, then my face, then anywhere else but me. " _Damn straight, you better not look at an Admiral in someone else's underwear."_ I thought while walking down the main hallway of the starboard gravity ring. Just before reaching the **C** omputer **S** imulations **S** ection, Two more of Judith's Private security detail rounded the corner and immediately burst into laughter.

"I will give you five seconds to compose yourselves before I make _you_ wear the same thing for a week." I hissed, which instantly received the response I was looking for.

"Sorry Admiral, It won't happen again." S.F.C Evelyn Hawkins said while standing at full attention.

"And, how about you?" I asked the man.

"Sorry Admiral, I fully respect all outfit choices, and do not discriminate any sexual preferences anyone has." Specialist Lawrence Yates answered while he too stood at full attention.

"First off, these aren't of my choosing, it's all that was in my size. Second, I'm not gay." I said in an irritated tone.

"Permission to speak freely, Admiral?" S.F.C. Hawkins asked.

With a grumble of regret, I responded. "Go ahead."

"Yates was referring to the Raxxlan Snow leopard sir, you have a few pieces of her fur on your chest."

"Oh, well in that case, you can get a hair roller, real clothing, and an R.S.K mark two for Jacqueline."

"What happened? did you split… nevermind." Hawkins said once she saw my glare.

"Deliver them to my quarters. I believe its PQ-0037." I replied while turning towards the C.S.S entrance. Once I walked into the room filled with uplink tables and a single, Long Term Integration Chamber, I sat down at once of the control stations.

"How are you holding up Admiral?" A female voice of English accent asked me through the P.A system in the room. Simultaneously, the blast door closed and locked me within the room.

"Sad… Angry… Confused… Weak." I replied as I rested my face in my palms for a few seconds, then grabbing one of the dark blue two piece outfits used when integrating with the computer system. Just as I stepped into the pants, someone knocked at the blast door.

"Are you going to link up with me?" The voice in the intercom asked.

"Yeah, Load up lesson sixty-eight, sixty-nine, and seventy, would you?" I asked while slipping on the blue shirt, followed by walking to uplink table 01. Once I placed the flexible cap covered in wires on my head, I laid on the table and started hooking up the different intravenous lines I would need.

"How long would you like to train for Elliot?" The voice asked.

"I dunno Mom, Maybe six or seven months." I replied solemnly.

"You haven't called me mother in years Elliot. Is everything alright?" The voice asked.

"I can't say until I'm linked to you. But the short story is no." I said while opening the nourishment, and sedative lines connected to my arms.

"Okay Elliot. . . Training is set for seven months, you will disembark from me in seven days. Are you sure this is what you wish to do?" My adoptive mother asked just as a louder knock rang at the blast door.

"Yeah Sam, I will be a fool no longer." I replied.

"Okay darling, starting training." Sam said just before my vision went to white.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the late update, and possible quality drop. I'm having a hard time finding time to write in my schedule, so bare with me.**


	9. Chapter 9: Detour

Chapter Nine: Detour

 _Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street._

* * *

-=Elliot Pov, seven months later=-

* * *

"That was quite the teaching Elliot, I never expected you to _still_ be so ignorant on lesson sixty-nine." Sam said to me as we laid upon the top of a grassy knoll. My training for the three lessons was finally over, and I had passed all three final exams of lesson sixty-eight, sixty-nine, and seventy. Although the training was quite awkward and embarrassing, I was happy with my decision to enter Satcom's simulation program seven days ago.

"Come on, Sam. When would I have possibly learned about those things in all that detail? … All that nasty, _nasty_ detail." I replied while gripping the grass below my fingers; I hadn't felt real grass in so long it was almost foreign to me, however, this wasn't _real_ grass per-say, just a perfect simulation of it.

"You spent six and a half years within my simulation, and in all that time you could have learned about those things. You did have-"

"DON'T... Even... Say it." I replied in embarrassment. "Moving on." I said with a mental shiver. "How pissed is Judith that I broke Jacqueline's nose?"

"She's cooled off for the most part, but you and Jacqueline are going to be disciplined for both of your actions." Sam replied as she sat up from her supine position.

"What!? Why do I have to be punished, Jacqueline's the one who started it, and I don't have the strength to muscle out of it anymore." I complained with indignance as I shot upright.

"We've been over this, and you now understand her true motives."

"Yeah, but I-"

" _Elliot_ , enough." Sam said with motherly authority.

"Ooookaaaayyyyy." I answered as my head dipped toward the grass below. "I suppose I'm ready as ever."

"Ready for what?" Sam asked with confusion.

"To disembark." I answered.

"Oh. You really need to work on contexting your sentences, Elliot. We're talking about Jacqueline one second, then you're off about leaving the simulation the next."

"Yeah, yeah." I replied as I laid back in the grass, feeling the soft blades run between my fingers. Instantly that was all gone, everything was numb, and all I could see was pure white; From my ten years of entering and exiting the simulation, I was accustomed to this _loading screen_ of sorts. It was the bridge from full tactile and visual immersion to being in the real world, and while it took almost an hour for me, it was only two minutes in the real world. Once the white faded away, I was left with a sore, stiff feeling in my body, which was caused from laying motionless on a table for seven days straight. My eyes began to focus in of the light above, although it was almost immediately blocked by a head shaped shadow. The shadow began saying things to me, however I was still very loopy from the sedative running through me veins.

Without warning, I was hoisted onto the figure's shoulders like a sack of potatoes, and carried throughout the gravity ring. I had no clue where we were going due to my eyes still being out of focus, but I knew it was probably Judith carrying me, and she was probably taking me to one of the dozens of medical bays within the city sized capital ship.

". . . not believe you, why would you just up and use the simulation, Elliot?"

"Besjuse… Becoose... Fook." I mumbled in realization that my vocal chords were un-calibrated from lack of use.

"You surely know staying dormant like that for so long isn't healthy to do. We've only been doing this how long!?" Judith asked with annoyance.

"Tee-hugrud years." I answered with shame.

"That's right Elliot, over three-hundred years we've been using the simulation, and you decide to use normal integration for an _entire week._ " She said with bubbling anger.

"I'm fun now, just a luutle disoriented." I replied in defense.

"Could-could you say that again? I didn't quite understand you." Judith replied with a taunt.

"I'm dine… FINE."

"Uh-huh, suuurrrreeee." Judith said just before setting me on the ground. "If you can walk from here to over there-" She said while pointing to a doorway about thirty meters away. "I'll consider you okay."

"I goot this." I replied as I straightened my posture.

I didn't have it. My first step almost didn't happen at all, and the second one almost caused me to fall. My balance was so far off it felt like I had played that game where you spin around a broom poll while looking at the ground, then try and run in a straight direction. I never stood a chance of making it, and I fell after about eight feet; As I fell, my head felt instantly hot, and my vision started to blur.

" _OH shit_! Shit, shit, shit, shit!" Judith Squawked with panic as she flipped me to my back.

"What, I'm-I'm a little off bal-ence." I said with a hiccup in my speech. I didn't quite understand why my head was so hot, and my vision blurred, however, when Judith replied with regret and worry, I realized something was off.

"Dammit! Why do I always have to push people too far." That was the last I heard before everything went numb, darkness surrounding me. I looked around, and found a small light off in the distance, very faint and dim, but a light in the darkness nonetheless. When I moved my foot forward, I found a strange resistance against it; Not quite water or Jello, but a varying viscosity of resistance with the occasional hard spot. I sure a hell wasn't going to feel around with my hands, but it was so intriguing; The sloshing of water, smell of iron in the air, mixture of hard and soft things restricting my movement, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was.

I must have walked for hours and hours before the small, dim light began to take shape of what it really was; A ladder with a small light bulb and chain at the top. The closer I grew to the ladder, the slight scent of iron turned into a pungent, overwhelming, gag inducing smell. In addition to the smell, all that resistance was far stronger than before, almost seeming like something was grabbing my ankles at times. You have to understand I might as well have been blind due to the light level, Not even the ground directly beneath the light was illuminated.

When I reached the ladder, I began shaking with fear from what I witnessed on the aluminum structure. Thousands of names written on every square inch of the surface, blue for men and red for women. The instant I started reading the names in my head, a blood curdling scream echoed through my ears as if we were in a massive cavern underground.

" _Fuck this shit."_ I thought just before scrambling up the ladder steps, which were almost twenty meters up at the top. I hadn't really stopped to think about the names until I stopped at one particular name, ' _Ben Anderson'._ At that moment I realized what all the names were, and I started shaking to the point of making the ladder rattle.

"Why did you leave us, Captain?" I heard a male voice whisper from off in the distance.

"Why didn't you use the Flame-stone cannon, Captain?" A female voice whispered.

Both of those voices brought me so close to tears of sadness, simultaneously I was reaching for the chain next to the light bulb. When I pulled it, the small light went out, and another astronomically sized light illuminated everything I waded through... And I thought the hallway with the mutilated animals in the simulation was bad.

"It was bodies… So many bodies." I muttered as I stared at the thousands of bodies strewn in random directions all around me. They weren't rotted or anything, almost looking alive and well... minus the lifelessness. I recognized the closest people as my high ranking officers, and only friends before 3318. They were the dead crew of the Federal Navy Ship Damocles.

"WHY NOW!?" I screamed into the cavern out of anger and sadness. The way I received my answer was more than undesirable. Almost simultaneously, every single lifeless body rose and walked in front of me, standing in a parade formation while at full saluting attention. At the very front stood my four lieutenants with gracious smiles on their faces.

"We are the fallen. We are the lost and forgotten. We are the loyal." Was said simultaneously by every single man and women.

"Wait." I said through my silent tears of my past decision. "What's happening?" I asked with worry. Once again, every single man and women of the seven thousand started talking in perfect unison.

"We are are going to serve you through life after death. Though you may not know it, Zofia has saved every soul of the dead to be recycled in a thousand years. We have been called upon to serve you once again. We have been chosen to enter your body and provide all our knowledge and skill so that you may win the war to come." Echoed throughout the cavern with the voice of thousands working in harmony.

"Hell no." I said with indignance. "I'm not about to be possessed by seven thousand people that died because of me." I added while clinging to the ladder rungs.

"Sir." One of my female lieutenants said. "We aren't going to control you, we will die in this process, simply ceasing to exist... Never to be recycled again. Every single one of us has been given a choice, and you can see what we all chose." She said while walking to the base of the ladder rungs.

"I'm not really here, am I? It's just like the transition world when I was paralyzed." I said.

"No, Elliot. When you fell, your skull cracked open… Your dying right now."

"Am I going to live?"

"Yes." She replied immediately "But this will be your only chance to absorb our collective power."

"No." I answered.

"But we-"

"I'm done with the bullshit of all this Galactic tracker stuff. While appreciate all of you doing this, I'm not changing my body again." I said as I stepped up one more ladder rung.

"What about the nanobots you plan to inject?" She asked with crossed arms.

"That's something from the physical world, not this crap." I countered as I gestured to the assemblage.

"I understand." She replied with a forlorn expression just before slinking back to the formation. "Then this is goodbye Captain." The lieutenant said as she stood at full attention until every single man and woman faded into oblivion.

Almost the second the last soldier disappeared, I shot upright in a grass field, a cool breeze surrounding me, and the warm sun shining on my body… my... naked…. dirt covered body. "Oh, what the crap." I complained as I started brushing the dirt away. Once the majority was off my skin, I looked at my surroundings, and found something very off about the situation; There was a hole in the ground just next to me with a rotted coffin on the other side of it. Upon walking to the wood box, I found it to be empty of a body, on the clothing of a high ranking officer. The person's name tag was in some strange language, however it looked strikingly familiar.

I instantly thought this was some strange punishment for whatever I did a few days ago… "What did I do again?" I asked myself while looking across the grassy field I was in. I had no clue where I was, but I could see a large colony in the distance, perhaps a little over twenty kilometers away. With my direction already in mind, I glanced down to the dress white uniform, and decided to see if it would fit; As luck would have it, I was a perfect body size for whoever owned it.

"Sorry… I shall call you Bob." I said as I inspected the name tag of an unidentified language. "I apologize for wearing your lovely uniform, but I am without clothes, and with shame." I said as I tucked it into my right pants pocket along with white gloves. Once I put on white shoes, and the fancy hat, I started my trek towards the colony in the distance.

All around me were grassy, rolling hills, tall trees, blue skies with a few white clouds, a bright orange sun, and slight breezes every now and again. At first, I wondered if their were any roads nearby due to the large colonization of Earth-like worlds, however, when I found a complete lack of any aerial craft or drones, I wondered if this was a primitive outpost on the edge of explored space.

I probably made it about halfway to the colony when darkness approached. All of the easily traversable grass had given way to dense forest with thick underbrush, which forced me to a painful pace, both figuratively and literally. The only reason I kept walking as far into the late evening as I did was from all the various types of insects and reptiles of a most unsavory appearance.

"Five more minutes." I mumbled in exhaustion while carefully pushing a plant bolstering five inch spines from my path. As luck would have it, just behind the deadly plant was a meadow of fairly large scale. How it was in the middle of a dense forest was beyond me. The whole thing was filled with tall grass and white flowers of various sizes. The wildlife seemed far more docile out in the open, only consisting of fireflies, which only aided in my search for firewood.

"This should do just nicely." I said with happiness, albeit exhausted happiness. Along my route surrounding the perimeter of the meadow, I came across three, very old, yet still noticeable imprintations in the ground, which if a straight line were to be drawn between them, would form an elongated triangle.

"What do you make of this, Bob?" I asked the name tag.

"Oh, well it looks like giant boot marks to me." I said with a horrible Australian accent to imitate what I thought the dead officer would sound like.

"Well, Bob. I'd have to disagree, ya-see, it looks more like landing gear marks to me. Perhaps an Imperial Cutter." I replied to myself while stacking the wood gathered from my hike.

I ended up applying the bowstring method for starting my fire, using a shoelace as the string, and one of the larger circular medals from the uniform to apply pressure on the vertical friction stick. After about a minute of drilling, small embers of an orange hue glowed on the horizontal friction board. I carefully moved them into a tinder pile made from dead grass particulate, and blew lightly into the tinder. Almost instantly, a fire burst from the embers and I was set to cook food… that I didn't have.

"Of fiddlesticks." I muttered while staring into the orange, inviting glow of my campfire. It was far too late for anything to be hunted, skinned with a knife I didn't possess, and cooked, yet my gut groaned nonetheless; I was quite SOL. "Ehh, what's two days without food, I found water, and Civilization is only a day's walk… I'll be fine." I said while stoking the fire up, followed by placing a large, flat rock over the logs in just a way to let air in, but keep the embers glowing hot for the entire night.

When morning arose, I was drenched in water, my fire was completely out, and it was pouring rain. "How kind of you, Bob. I thought we had really bonded." I said with a smile; Just because I was cold and wet, didn't mean my spirits would be let down.

Upon my hasted departure, I made sure to distribute the coals all over the meadow to prevent tracking of my movements, then trekked onward through the monsoon. At around what seemed like midday, although I wasn't quite sure because of the dark clouds and rain, I re-estimated the time it would take me to reach the colony I discovered was built on a very large peninsula. I would have to either swim across the ocean, walk all the way around, which went through a mountain range, or perhaps walk on the bridge stretching across. It was decision time, and I found a large boulder to hide under while I thought about it. Through my desperate shivers to stay above hypothermia, I rationalized it would take me three or four more days to walk around at this pace. It would take at least two days to create a strong enough raft to make it across, and it would only take a few hours to make it across the bridge; Normally, I estimated it to be a fifteen minute walk across the concrete train bridge, but with the gale force winds and rain, I would literally have to crawl across it.

"I d-d-dunno, Bob. Wh-wh-what if a t-t-train comes?" I muttered while hugging my soaked body.

"A t-t-train wouldn't b-b-be in use r-r-r-right now." I replied to myself in the Bob voice.

"Yeah, YEAH!" I shouted. That was the plan, I would go over the train bridge, and into the colony, which I determined to really be a city of large scale, towering buildings towards the back, and smaller ones to the front. I couldn't really tell through the rain, but it seemed to have a desert, tundra, and rainforest all rolled up into one city.

By the time I arrived at the bridge, all rain had ceased and the wind seemed to be letting up slightly, although it still blew fast enough to force a crawl on my part. Because of the rain decrease, I made it across the bridge in just under an hour, completely exhausted nonetheless.

"Oh, fu.. No, BOB, don't get me cursing now." I said to myself while looking at the sparse streets of closed stores and shops. Everything was street after street of complete emptiness, which worried me; After a few intersection crossings, I thought about breaking to a shop to save my life. Almost the second I was off the bridge, more rain hammered down upon my body, at least the wind didn't resume.

"A l-l-light in the d-d-dark." I whispered while looking at a flashing security car with two individuals setting up a water flooding warning. It didn't occur to me I could've called out to get their attention, so I started stumbling through the rain to reach them. Once I was about ten meters away, The smaller of the two rain-gear outfitted people turned around.

"HUMAN!" It shouted while reaching for something on it's waist. This evented in the other person literally dropping their part of the barricade warning, and reaching for something on it's waist as well.

"Please, I-I've b-been in the w-woods for d-days, and I'm hy-hy-hyp-"

"Hypothermic?" The larger of the to asked with a slightly cocked head.

"Yes." I said while taking off the fancy hat that managed to stay on through the whole ordeal. With a wipe of the water from my forehead and eyes, I began to speak again. "Please help me." I said in a desperate whimper as I fell to my knees from exhaustion.

"ELLIOT!" The taller one shouted just before letting go of his waist mounted weapon, and running to support me… with an animal's paw.

"Android?" I asked, which came no response directed at me.

"Judy, get the heater on, and don't you dare radio him in." The four foot Fox android said while supporting a substantial amount of my weight.

"But he's-" The smaller one, Judy was her designation, said while opening the off road equipped vehicle's driver side door.

"He SAVED YOU!" the Fox yelled.

"Ahh, I'm freezing." I mumbled while the Fox draped his rain gear over me the best he could, followed by opening the back seat door and gesturing me to enter. The instant I gazed into the cab, it seemed like time slowed down; I could see the individual rain drops slowly smacking the roof of the police car labeled ZPD, and I noticed the back seat to this vehicle was designed to hold things in. The windows had steel bars across them, and there was an expanded steel barrier between the front and back seats.

" _Core body temperature critical, heating Nanites to restabilize body heat."_ Was relayed into my head via a male, English accented voice. Almost instantly, I felt warm, then really hot; It was still way better than being cold at the moment.  
"Hey, are you okay?" The fox asked, which took me out of the slow motion from just a few seconds ago.

"I-I don't want to sit in the back seat." I answered while taking a step away from the door.

"Hmm, I could sit with you."

"N-no thanks. If you could just direct me to the nearest human, that'll be all." I said as my body coursed with heated Nanite robots; When I received the injection, I have no idea.

"Judy, he's really disoriented!" Nick shouted over the sound of rain coming down harder and harder.

"Just give him the S-35, and lets go!" The other android shouted in response. Before I had time to ask what S-35 was, Something was sprayed into my face, and the world went dark.

" _Nanite vital monitoring has detected sedative present in your body, Nanites are now clearing the chemical."_ Was said by that same English voice as before. After a few seconds, I started hearing muffled voices talking, but I was so tired it didn't really care to open my eyes.

"What do you think happened?" The Fox asked with worry.

"I dunno, you said he died." The one designated Judy replied. "How much S-35 did you give him?" She asked.

"Enough to last a few days... I- I just can't believe he's still alive." The Fox said with a waver in its voice. "I saw him buried in the ground."

"BOB!" I shouted with a groggy voice after I processed what the android said.

"Uhh, Nick. I don't think it worked." Judy said with worry.

"Hey buddy, are you alright?" The Fox designated Nick said.

"If you find me another human, I'll be just swell." I said while opening my eyes to the sight of a white apartment, and me on the couch… the entire, animal sized couch.

"That might be hard, we sorta ran them all off after you guys came back. The only human I know to be on the planet is you." Nick said from just a few feet away from me.

"Stupid androids." I mumbled while looking at the one named Judy. "A rabbit and a fox huh, that's almost comical."

"Do you not remember us, we're your friends, and you saved Judy's life a few years ago." Nick said as he gestured to none other than Judy.

"I know this is stupid, but what year is it?" I asked, surely if these were living creatures, and I knew them in the past, i would remember something like that.

"Well, on our planet it's twenty-nineteen. I think it's like thirty-three twenty eight or something on your planet.

"That doesn't sound right. I'm only twenty-seven… I think." I mumbled as I sat upright on the white couch.

"Hey, just answer me this. What's your full name?" Nick asked.

"Seriously?" I asked in a high pitched voice. "It's… It's umm." I added while scratching my head. "Uhh, BOB, yes-yes, my name is Bob." I said with a toothy grin to hide my anxiety.

"Okay, what city are we in?" He asked with perplexity.

"How should I know? I woke up two days ago in the middle of a filed, sitting next to a hole in the ground with a coffin on the other side of said hole. Not to mention I was naked, covered in dirt- Oh my fuck, I was in the coffin." I replied in a disgruntled tone, only for it to morph into awe mid sentence. This triggered Nick and Judy to lean closely together and murmur into each others ears. Nick had to slightly lean down to accommodate the short stature of Judy, although I imagine her perked up ears helped.

"Okay, here's what's going to happen. We're going to take you to the ZPD, and they'll take care of you. I promise everything will be okay." Judy said with a smile as she inched closer to me; She sure did sound genuine, although her nervous finger twiddling put me in a state of suspicion.

" _Vocal analysis complete, subject in visionary focus is lying."_ The male, English accented voice said into my head.

" _Recommended course of action, Bob?"_ I asked into my head. I guess some part of my mind still knew what it was talking into my head. As far as I knew, Nanobots couldn't conjugate into a voice like this, that meant I must have something implanted into my brain to act as the central computer.

" _Firstly, my name's Ian Bates, but you can call me Bates, Master Bates."_ The computer replied.

" _AHH-He-He-Heh_. . . You did that on purpose, didn't you?" I asked amidst my chuckling. I was staring directly at the two animal robots in front of me, who had a _what the fuck_ expression plaster across their faces… " _Wait a second, robots don't just lie."_

" _That would be correct Mister President. These are Raxxlan Inhabitants you have saved in the past."_ Master Bates said into my head. " _You appear to be suffering from retrograde amnesia, it's possible during your 'death' I failed to keep all of your memories intact. For that I humbly apologize."_ Bates said, which prompted me to envision a butler bowing slightly.

"MISTER PRESIDENT!" I shrieked while shooting upright from the white couch, which caused the two 'Raxxlans' to reach for their weapons holstered in the waist draw position.

"Elliot, calm down." Nick said as he held out a negotiating hand, the other one still firmly clasped around the grip of his handgun.

" _Yes Sir, You are the current leader of the Human Defense Forces, although I imagine you've been replaced by now… I always did like your sister, she really deserved a better way to go out."_ Bates said sadly.

"My sister! I don't have a sister." I responded while pacing circles around the white couch with two end tables on either side. This allowed me to get a better look of the room I was in; In front of the couch rested a Large Television mounted to the wall, and a few control boxes with wires running up to the monitor sitting on a table below. There was a kitchen to the back left of the room with all sorts of cooking equipment. Electromagnetic induction stove, microwave frequency cooking box, convection oven, and a very large sink. Just to the right from the kitchen was a hallway that dove deeper into the apartment.

" _Judith Crawford; Deceased due to unknown circumstances. She used to be your wife, but the title was changed to family due to her influence and power."_

"That name kinda sounds familiar." I said while scratching my head and looking at the confused Raxxlan security. "Don't worry guys, I'm just talking to Master Bates, he lives in my head." I said with a smile that elicited Nick to start giggling like a child.

"Judy, you think the obelisk could help him?" Nick asked, which earned my full attention. All my mumbling to myself ceased in an instant, and I intently stared at the two for information.

"Ehh, maybe. But it's still under heavy military guard since the war just ended." She replied nonchalantly.

"War? War between who?" I asked with curiosity.

"Oh, some male wanted to take over the world, and he convinced billions it was a ' _Holy crusade'_ that would bring them close to the Gods."

"And whom might these Gods be?"

"Uhh… You." Judy answered with a duh expression.

"ME!?" I squealed.

"Yep, I'm still not so sure about it, but you humans are invincible to everything we can throw at you except one chemical another race of Gods gave to us." She said while waving a black canister labeled S-35.

"Uh-huh." I replied while thinking of _invincible_. It could be the nanobots infused into our systems that made us seem God-like, however it could be simply attested to our technology. "How far have you made it into the stars?"

"Oh, Uhh… I think we're establishing a permanent base on Lubrilia, right?" She asked while looking to Nick for confirmation.

Even if they didn't have a permanent base on the nearest planet, that would remove the Gods through technological advancement thing. "Obelisk... Take me there... Now." I interrupted while walking to the door.

"NO!" Judy shouted as she clamped onto my wrist, only to be lifted up to my level from me raising my arm. "Eh-heh-heh." Came out from nervousness due to my glare cast into the Rabbits amethyst eyes; Simultaneously, her ears drooped flat.

"Why not? If I'm a God here, who can stop me?" I asked with animosity. If there was some piece of technology capable of restoring my memory, I was going to use it no matter who stood in my way.

"We cou-could stop you." Judy said with a feeble voice.

"Yeah, when you can say that with confidence, I'll start believing it." I said just before grabbing the Gray rabbit around the stomach, and plucking her from my left wrist. When I moved to set her down, my stomach grumbled, and I felt an intense hunger for the nervous Rabbit in my clutches. "No stomach, we don't eat things that can talk." I spoke in a condescending tone, which evented in the rabbit squirming in my grasp until I let go, followed by hiding behind the Fox.

"Hey, If you stay here." Nick started to say as he pointed to the floor with his fingers. "I'll make you some delicious Chicken Salad Sandwiches. Whaddya say?" He asked while extending his paw for a shake.

"That sounds disgusting. Salad, sure. Chicken, absolutely. But both?" I asked with revulsion.

"You must not remember. You gave me the recipe, and when I first heard it, I reacted the same way, but I can personally give it the predator seal of approval." Nick affirmed with a smile that revealed his small, but dangerous teeth.

"Fine… You have two hours to make it, I will stay here." I said while plopping myself on the couch. The entire hour and a half Nick was scrambling around the kitchen to finish my meal, I had one question on my mind that superseded all others. Master Bates didn't have the answer unfortunately, although he had minor success repairing my memory with the virus sized nanobots within my body. Judy also made sure to steer clear of grabbing distance, probably out of fear I'd eat her right then and there.

"When are you two going to take your police uniforms off?" I asked while staring at the black TV.

"We're supposed to be setting up flood barricades all over the city, but then you showed up." Judy chirped with happiness.

"Well, aren't you lucky I rescued you from those horrible hours of work in the rain all covered up in waterproof suits. Don't worry about the fact I was in the wilderness for two days without food, and I only had this uniform to wear… Ya-know how badly this thing wedgies you?" I said while pulling on the fabric covering my butt.

"Yeah, but you don't have fur to dry out after." Nick countered as he brought a plate with a few sandwiches on it. "Now, tell me this isn't delicious." He dared while staring at me; Even with my seated position, the Red Fox was only taller by a few inches. The food did indeed smell delightful, however that wouldn't prevent me from checking the contents thoroughly. I began methodically taking apart every facet of the filling to look for poisons, sedatives, and possibly a tracker.

"You could've just asked me to take a few bites, ya-know." He deadpanned while sitting next to my right side.

"You could have already ingested the contraceptive." I said as I reassembled the sandwich.

"Sorry, but why would I be taking birth control?" He asked with a stifled laugh.

"You know what I meant." I replied with a deathly glare as I bit into the food. " _Damn, if I gave him this recipe, I must have been like, a master chef."_ I thought.

" _You weren't, Sir. You are just over five hundred years old."_ Master Bates said into my head.

"That doesn't sound right." I said aloud. "I know I was older than normal, but five-hundred seems a little bit off." I said while devouring the second sandwich without a thought of inspecting it.

" _Elliot, I distinctively have kept track of every time you've integrated into my L.T.I.S."_ Bates replied. " _I am your father after all."_

"Umm, that doesn't sound right either." I said in between bites.

"Hey, could you stop talking to the air? It's freaking me out a little." Nick said as he nudged my shoulder with… HIS FACE. "Uhh, what are you doing?" I asked the Fox currently nuzzling into my arm.

"Oh, sorry. You must not remember yet." He mumbled with a downcast face.

"Bates, You're in control of the Nanites, right?" I asked.

" _Sure am."_ He replied with pride.

"Remove them from my body, and create a physical version of yourself." I commanded as I finished off the last of the three sandwiches.

" _That seems a bit strange, but sure. I just recommend telling those two to close their eyes."_ He replied. By this time, Judy must have settled down from me eating food because she placed her body very close to my left side rib cage. I thought it was comical when she jumped due to a very thunderous lightning strike nearby, followed by the sound of heavy rain tapping on the window.

"They're fine." I countered just before feeling a liquid emanate from my entire body; It felt like I was sweating a gallon per second, and I realized it was the Nanites working their way out of my skin one way or another. By another, I also felt like I was taking a piss and having the worst case of diarrhea ever. Once a few seconds went by, both Nick and Judy squealed in horror as they scooted away from me, although I couldn't see much after that because of the Nanites pouring from my eyes. Once the robotic army was completely out of my body, I felt physically weaker.

" _They must have been bolstering my muscles during my time without food."_ I thought while looking at the pool of silvery water blob together, and eventually form into the shape of a muscular man. Once the main features were established, the silvery shine turned into the color of skin, along with what looked like a police uniform emanating from the _skin_ of the Nanite figure. The uniform became more pronounced, and eventually turned into what looked like actual fabric.

"Hello, Son." The _man_ said with a gentle voice.

"Okay, I seriously thought about hurling right in your lap." Judy said with disgust.

"Me too. We were _not_ fine." Nick added in an equally irked tone.

"You'll be fine." I said as I stood from the couch, only to stumble from weakness. Before gravity was able to pull me all the way to the floor, I found myself supported by the quadrillions of virus sized robots. "I really don't recognize you, Ian." I said while staring into the face of the man.

"That's nothing to be ashamed of, Son. You've been dead for almost two years, during which I kept your body in working condition for the time I knew your soul would be returned. I worked tirelessly to pump your blood, feed oxygen into your muscles, manage your organs, but it was all worth it, because I love you as much as an artificially intelligent father can." Bates said with care just before my entire body was enveloped in the Nanite slurry. I started to panic, I was going to drown in robots, and I started strugglig against the liquid enveloping my body, however I was unable to move at all, the liquid was holding me tightly.

 _"Just relax, Son. You can still breath fine."_ Ian said in the same gentle tone.

I really didn't want to test his truthfulness, but I was running out of oxygen at what seemed like an unnatural rate. With a tiny breath in, I realized I could still breath, and the pool of warm liquid around me was being absorbed by my body. Relief couldn't describe what I felt the moment I breathed without choking on robots.

"That was some _Bulllllllllllshit_." Nick said once all the silver liquid was drawn into my body.

" _I'll give you three some alone time."_ Bates said into my head just before my body felt weak, and I collapsed in the center of the couch.

"Yeah, I'll say." I replied while shutting my eyes. I theorized that Ian turned off the powerhouse of nanites in my body, and boy did I realize how tired I was… and cold.

"I don't mean to bother you, but can I crash here… and have a blanket, and a few towels to dry my body?" I asked in a mumble.

"Of course you can stay here. I'll go get you some blankets and a pillow." Nick said without hesitation.

"Thanks." I murmured while drifting to sleep in a matter of seconds.

"YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE GENE BEARER!" Was shouted authoritatively just as I shot up in a cold sweat, still on the couch.

"What was that?" I asked myself while looking outside the window; I could see it was still raining, and now it was clearly night.

"You are not welcome here, simple as that." Said a female voice that emanated from the walls themselves.

"Who are you?" I asked with worry as I prayed Ian reactivated the Nanites in my body.

"Your worst nightmare." Hissed the voice just as a most unsettling apparition phased through the wall. The thing was covered in dark ripped gown-like clothing, only going to the base of it's chest. The main reason for this was because it didn't have legs, only the bare spine where legs would've connected to. Its face was all torn up and mangled like a bear had ripped into it, and the arms were of matching damage

Scary, absolutely. Anyway I could kill it, not a clue.

Not much time was given before the thing lunged at me.

"AHHH!" I yepled while shooting up on the couch. "The hell! Double dream." I squawked with panic. Not five seconds later, a door down the hallway behind the couch opened.

"Whats wrong!?" Nick shouted as he ran out with a rifle in the high ready position.

"It's-it's nothing… Just go back to bed." I said while rubbing my eyes and sitting upright on the couch.

"No one just screams for nothing..." Nick said as he sat next to me, placing the rifle on the floor once he un-chambered the cartridge. "What happened?" Nick asked while rubbing a paw on my exposed upper back. " _Wait, what happened to my shirt?"_

"It was just a dream."

"Just a dream, huh? Well, you just lay down, and tell me what happened in this dream." He cooed while motioning me to lay my head in his lap. I thought about it for a few moments, and decided that I didn't really need to act like an impenetrable wall. With my decision made up, I laid on my back, let him pull the blanket to my neck along with petting my hair tenderly.

Suffice to say it was weird, however I just attributed it to him wanting to get on my good side, or earn a favor… or blackmail me. " _Ehh, who knows?"_

"So, what happened?" He asked softly while continuing to gently rake his claws through my hair.

"At first, I just heard someone yell 'You aren't welcome here.' Then I woke up, but it was really a dream within a dream. The same voice said it again, and then said I should fear her."

"So it was a female voice?" He asked in deep thought.

"Yeah. Anyway, this ghost, zombie thing flew through the wall, and tried to attack me. Just as it reach my neck, I woke up."

"Hmm, could you tilt your head up so I can see your neck?" Nick asked while looking down into my eyes with his green ones.

"Uhh, promise not to bite me?" I asked with nervousness, mainly from just having met the Fox yesterday.

"You wound me, Elliot. I would never think of such a-"

"Okay, I get it." I interjected while exposing my neck.

"OH MY GOD!" He squealed with terror, simultaneously recoiling as far away as permitted without moving his whole body.

"WHAT!?" I shrieked in response.

"IT'S A NECK!" Nick said just before looking at me with a half lidded, lazy smile.

"Ugh." I groaned in response. His joke kind-of made talking awkward for some reason, so I deferred to letting him resume the stroking of my scalp. ". . . Who am I?" I asked after a lengthy silence.

"Oooh, are we playing twenty questions?" He asked.

"Very funny… but really, who am I? I still don't remember much." I asked with wonder.

"Well... Handsome would be the first word I'd use." Nick said, which brought the comforting sensation of his paw pads running over my head to a whole level of creepy, my relaxed posture quickly turned into a stiff board. "You were that galactic tracker for hundreds of years, at least that's what you told me. Somehow, you went back in time to serve your duty to the Guardians, and once it was fulfilled, you came to live the rest of your life here."

"That's. . . noble, I guess. . . Wait, that's not what happened." I said while sitting up. "I revolted against the Guardians, and lost my power… I-I think." I said while glancing down to my sweat covered hand. I thought about it for a second, and a pure white orb of energy grew in my hand.

"Whoa, you still have powers." Nick said as he inched closer to the energy, causing a white reflection to shine off of his emerald eyes.

"This isn't right either. I remember now, this is supposed to be completely void of light." I said while focusing on other aspects of my flickering memory. "You aren't supposed to have war!" I shouted in frustration as I stood from the couch.

"Well... no war would be cool and all, it's kind of in our nature, Elliot. We're Predators, and their Prey, it's just bound to happen eventually." Nick said while leaning back into the couch seat.

" _You are not welcome here, Gene bearer. Go… HOME."_ The same female voice enjoined directly into my head.

"Nick, where's the obelisk thing? And my shirt for that matter." I asked while slipping on my fancy white shoes. I had a theory there was something more to that voice in my head, and from what Nick was talking about, it was my best bet for ' _going home'._

"Hate to break it to yuh, but the Army's guarding it." Nick replied casually while spanning his arms across the top of the couch.

This sent me over the edge with anger, mostly towards my own head forgetting everything, but partially due to Nick's smart ass smile. With one step, and a quick swipe of my hand, Nick was suspended in the air by one of his hind legs. His grin suddenly turned to panic, but not two seconds went by when some weird ass expression I couldn't recognize formed on his face.

* * *

"Now, Elliot. Lesson sixty-nine has concluded, your grade was at seventy-nine percent. Would you like to take it again to improve your score?" A female, English accented voice said to me. Another memory, this brought back recent memories of learning massive amounts of knowledge regarding certain… things.

I was completely dazed by the knowledge that came forth from the vast expanses of my gray matter, however, that daze was wiped away when I heard the sound of a zipper… my zipper. I looked back down to Nick, and this time I recognized the expression; Pure and simple lust, that was all it was, and somehow I didn't recognize it before. He was pulling my pants down, that is until I let go of his leg, effectively halting his attempt at undressing me upside down.

"What do think your doing?" I asked with odium in my voice.

"Helping you remember what happened." Nick replied with a lustful voice as he stood back up, looking me in the eyes.

"Nope!" I said once he made another grab for my waist. "Obelisk, NOW." I demanded while pointing at the floor with one hand, and zipping up my fly with the other. I surely remember Nick and I being nothing more than acquaintances, let alone him getting freaky with me.

"Mood killer." He grumbled just before unceremoniously plopping himself on the couch. "It's on outback island, just southeast of the Savannah Central coast.… You know I still love you, right?" He asked meekly just before I shut the door to his apartment. This took me by surprise for a few seconds, then it was like the fog rolled away, and I understood everything that transpired over the last few hours. I took a few steps into the apartment, and started scouring all the white walls, they were dotted with pictures of him and I... mostly kissing each other.

"Uhh, I don't really know how to tell you this..."

"You're not him, I already figured it out. _*Sniff*_ So don't worry about me. _*Sniff*"_ Nick said with quiet snivels as his arms curled up next to his chest, jolting in tune with each whimper.

"I'm sure he loved you. I know myself better than anyone, and I know love isn't something easily given out. Know that while the man you love is gone from the world… He'll always be in _here_ with you." I said while kneeling in front of the crying fox, followed by resting my hand on his cream colored fur around the heart.

"That's so cheesy." Nick replied with a chuckle in his crying, followed by him lunging forward, and wrapping his slender arms around my neck. I felt his Muzzle tuck into the side of my neck, and his tail trying it's best to grasp onto my leg. I felt pity for Nick, his whole world had been torn apart, and even though his loss was insurmountable for him, it would just be another drop of water in the ocean for me. The poor guy lost his mate from what I could gather, and he probably knew the second I showed up that I wasn't the Human he fell in love with.

I seriously still don't get how this version of myself could be gay. I personally had no problem with it, but I wouldn't ever swing that way, I guess my other self did. "Okay, Nick. I have to go now." I said gently while letting go of his back.

"Just a little longer… A-and, could I maybe l-li-"

"If that would help you, go ahead." I said with compassion, which was succeeded by Nicks small, yet warm tongue running across my neck. Internally, I was screaming to make him stop. I wanted so badly to leave and go home, yet I stayed stiff as a board while he washed my neck tactfully.

"I would like to wash something else, but I don't think you'll let me." He said with a sorrowful smile.

"Heh-heh, you would be correct about that." I said while acting on impulse. That impulse apparently took it too far, and made me lean in to kiss Nick on the nose. I just tried to play it off as me comforting him before I left, although I knew deep inside me that was not a conscious action.

" _I guess I have some gay in me after all."_ I thought as I closed the door to Nick's apartment. On my way down to the lobby of the apartment building, I made sure to stop and wash my lips clean of his nose juices, which happened to include snot. By the time I realized I never reclaimed my shirt, I was already three blocks down the street.

Due to our conversations before my slumber, I deduced that almost all animals on this planet worshiped humans as Gods, or tried to kill them. With that in mind, I made sure to stay within the shadows of the night. I don't know how many streets I walked through, but all of them were empty, and I started to wonder what was the matter. Perhaps a curfew was enacted, an event was going on, or maybe everyone just went to sleep at night.

In about three seconds flat, I heard the sound of a diesel engine, the screeching of tires, and a bright light in my face.

"PAWS IN THE AIR… NOW!" Someone shouted while pointing a blinding light in my face. "HUMAN, Open fire!" Someone else shouted. Instantly, the sound of crackling rifle fire echoed through the quiet city. I jumped a little at the first rifle crack, however, once my other selves nanobots sped up my mind, and started acting like the non-Newtonian armor of my G-suit, I realized why some revered us as Gods. That doesn't stop a twelve point seven by ninety-nine millimeter A.P.D.S from stinging like a wasp. This must have originated from the helicopter now circling overhead. All it took was me focusing on the helicopter for it to burst into flames and plummet to the ground.

I was standing in the middle of an intersection, surrounded by what I assumed to be the military of this world, causing a helicopter circling overhead to explode from thinking about it, and it only took about twenty seconds. I must have been hit hundred of times by small arms fire, but it was hard to really keep track due to the volume of fire. After the helicopter hit the ground, most of the rifle fire ceased momentarily, then resumed in full bore. I had enough of the feeling like I was having ants crawl over my skin, so I sprinted towards one of the many lights in my eyes. I simple braced my shoulder, and ran right into the source of the light, a very heavy armored vehicle designated 'hummer'. With the Nanites flowing through my body and a little more effort, I was able to overturn the vehicle to its side out of shear strength.

"Get the fucking S-35 grenades!" The male responsible for ordering everyone to open fire yelled. That was my queue to grab whoever was in charge, and hold them hostage. My first guess was the one ordering for the gas, so I eliminated the three wolf soldiers all around me, simply punching straight through the first one's armor plate and chest. Spartan kicking the second one into the overturned hummer, which earned an audible crack of his rib cage. And punching the spine of the third one, which broke the armor plate, and cracked his spine.

Through the glare of military grade spotlights, I saw the officer responsible for the order to open fire. A male, Black Panther wearing a digital urban camouflage Battle Dress Uniform. The second he looked into my calculated eyes, I saw fear, nevertheless, the officer opened fire with his weapon; The moment he pulled the trigger on his handgun, time slowed down again, and I watched a purple ball of plasma being hurtled toward my body in slow motion. I started moving out of the way, although the body only moves so fast, and even with all my strength being put into the _slow_ moving ball of heat energy, it was still going to impact my shoulder.

The officer was looking at me with his teeth bared, and ears flattened. All of the other wolves, and Panthera's of varying types were firing with such anger I had never before witnessed being directed at me. It was like I just killed every single family member they had right in front of them, and I can personally attest to that kind of anger.

" _Initiating quantum tunneling."_ Master Bates said into my head, causing a whoosh of cool air to blow over my body, followed by me teleporting directly in front of the officer holding the plasma weapon. Before he could react, I pushed the pistol away from my body with my left hand, and punched his face with my right, effectively disabling the large cat.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" I heard a female voice shout, causing an almost instantaneous reaction from everyone else. All the loud crackling of a firefight faded into a few echos, then disappeared all together.

"Elliot Crawford, President of the Human race."

"I need to see the Obelisk so I can go home, and nothing will stand in my way." I said while holding the unconscious panther by the collar of his uniform.

"That's all you want?" The female voice said with surprise; It was still hard to see anything through the light of spotlights, so I couldn't really tell what she looked like.

"Yes." I answered.

"And what of my men you killed?"

"It was self defense and you know it. They opened fire unprovoked, and paid the price for it." I hissed with odium. I hadn't done anything wrong in this situation as far as I knew, so why did they try to kill me.

"I will lead you to the Obelisk if you answer me one question."

"Deal."

"Are you really a God?"

On one hand, I could say yes, and possibly have them back down completely. On the other, If I was honest, they might have more respect for me, or just try even harder to kill me. "… No, I am not a God, simply a man in the wrong universe looking to go home."

"Wrong universe you say?" She asked as the spotlights were turned to the ground, which provided the area with ambient light. The voice belonged to a Snow leopard wearing what looked like an experimental exoskeleton suit. I say experimental because it was painted bright yellow, not exactly a military color.

"You, you're Jacqueline." I said in shock as I flat out dropped the limp Panther, who collapsed in pile of limp limbs. "I don't remember who you are, just that you're name is Jacqueline." I said while approaching the cat, which elicited a weapon raising from the other soldiers. I paid zero attention to the small arms aimed at me, after all, they hadn't so much as tickled me thus far.

"Yes, how did you know that?" She demanded, but in a polite tone.

"I-I don't know." I answered in deep thought. "Obelisk, a deal's a deal." I said after a few seconds.

"Deals off." She said just before drawing a silver canister. Once again, time slowed down, and I had ample time to stop the sprayer from aiming at me. I'll admit, her exoskeleton put up lots of resistance to my Nanobot muscle enhancement, but not nearly enough to counteract the Nanobot enhanced muscle I possessed.

"That wasn't the smartest of choices." I replied calmly, whereas Jacqueline was struggling with all her might. "Drop the canister, and we can end this on friendly terms." I said without animosity present. I was slightly ticked that she double crossed me, but how could I blame the officer for doing her job.

She continued to struggle against my grip, even going as far as punching me in the face with the pointed, steel knuckles of her power suit. It only ended in the machine overheating, and initiation a full powerdown. Oh, and I almost forgot half the soldiers shooting me in the back during all this, however, once Jacqueline's suit lost power, the soldiers lost the will to keep shooting.

The yellow colored power armor forcefully disembarked Jacqueline from within it's various straps and cables, which caused my hand to loose grip on her arm momentarily. In my efforts to regain my grip, I accidentally crushed her arm under my iron grasp, eliciting a scream of agony.

"AHHH-hahahah… You bitch!" She hissed with ears flattened and tail tucked.

"Well, actually, that soldier over there would be considered the bitch." I replied smugly as I thumbed to a female wolf. "Drop the canister, and take me to the Obelisk. I'll heal you once we adjourn to your MRAP." I said calmly as I still held onto her broken arm. After a few seconds, the flattened ears of the Snow leopard raised, her tail un-tucked, and the sedative can fell to the ground with a few clinks.

"You win Human… STAND DOWN!" She shouted to everyone else. Once the soldiers lowered their weapons, Jacqueline motioned me to follow her. We walked about fifteen meters to her much larger version of the hummer I overturned, which was called an MRAP, or Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle. "This is really going to piss off my mom." Jacqueline said in pain from the broken arm currently being cradled by a medic within the large vehicle; We were sitting across from each other on the fold out bench seat, and the medic was sitting next to her, doing his best to splint the wound.

"Come here, I should be able to heal you." I said as I effortlessly slid the medic down the bench seat, which elicited a 'WTF' expression from the two. "I can see your confused. Would you like me to explain?"

"Yeah." She replied in a stupor.

"Nanotechnology and pixy dust. Questions answered."

" _Heh-heh-heh,_ And I almost signed up for robotic limb replacement."

"Yeah, this is really the way to go when concerning the military." I added. Once I was seated, I laid my right hand on Jacqueline's broken arm. "Now, if this body has the same power as I did, you should be all better in just a moment." I said, which received a quizzed look in response.

"What do you mean, _this body_?" She asked with squinted eyes.

"Long story that involves things beyond your comprehension." I replied just before lightness particles of… _stuff_ encircled Jacqueline's arm. After a few seconds of her trying to grab the particles with her other paw, Jaqueline's arm was mended and fully operational.

The studying look on both Jacqueline and the wolf medic was one of awe. I just accomplished the impossible without breaking a sweat. "I'm going to miss this." I said with a content sigh.

"Miss what? And are you sure you're not a God?" Jacqueline asked once I re-seated myself across from her. Sure I would miss the powers I possessed, sure I would miss the nanotechnology within my cells, but it was one thing in particular that was quite cynical.

"I think I'll miss the conflict, all the war. It's comforting to me." I said casually.

The two in full battle rattle sitting across from me started gaping at my utterance.

"WHAT?" Jacqueline seethed; I'm sure if this was a cartoon, I'd see the steam coming from her ears.

"Yes, yes, I know. But think about this for a minute. If you were raised for three hundred years with the sole purpose of being the perfect war machine, wouldn't you think peace was a bit foreign?" I asked in all seriousness. "Don't get me wrong here, peace is just fine, but I can't help my predisposed nature."

"I understand." The wolf soldier replied. "I would love for no one to be sick or hurt, but it's in my nature to fix people. If I didn't have anyone to care for, I'd feel lost as well."

"This is ridicules." Jacqueline said while face palming. "Just promise me you won't use the Obelisk for war when we get there."

"Listen, I don't even know what the Obelisk is… or how to get home for that matter. I do know this creepy ghost has been haunting and telling me I don't belong here, so if I have to guess; That ghost is. . . . Nevermind, you need not concern yourselves."

As if right on cue, the zombie ghost phased through the wall of the MRAP and whispered 'Y _ou are not welcome here Galactic Tracker, what you are doing is wrong beyond measure.'_ This prompted me to stand up, grab the ghost around what little neck it had left, and throw it to the floor of the vehicle. I then created a Gamma radiation infused ball of dark energy right above its face; The only problem with that name was in this place the energy isn't light sucking, but a white sphere with orange wavy patterns dancing across it's surface due to the radiation.

"IDENTIFY YOURSELF GUARDIAN!" I commanded at the top of my lungs, followed by a much lower volume. "If you know where I'm from, then you well know I will not hesitate to end your life here and now."

"You are Elliot Crawford from universe seven-eight-two-five. I am Zofia from universe zero-zero-six-five, and you are not welcome here." The ghost said as it started emitting burning embers, which dissolved the ghost appearance into a mirror image of the Zofia from my world.

With a sudden push on her chest, I let go, stood up, and calmly responded while absorbing the energy into my hands. "I have no means to return to my home, nor do I know how I was sent here. I'm remembering more and more by the minute, although I still have hundreds of years to recall." Just as I finished my statement, a large bump in the road forced me to grasp one of the supporting bars overhead.

"Wait a second." Jacqueline interjected with curiosity. "If you have amnesia, how do you know how much is left to remember?"

"I remember my childhood, some of my training, and my life up until a few months ago. With a simple deduction of how old I am, I know that-"

"Okay, okay, I get it."

"… Zofia, I'm sure you are nothing like the mirror of my world, so I'm asking you to send me home, and lay this body to rest once and for all. This version of my parental AI has thought it right to keep this body viable, I need you to remove the nanotechnology, and bury him." I said gently while resting a hand on her red colored toga.

"I will, you have my word. But, one thing. Who sent you here?" She asked while conjuring up a portal within the MRAP.

"I imagine I will find out soon enough. Until that time, warn everyone you can that Zofia Seven-thousand eight-hundred and twenty-five has escaped, she has the power of twenty percent tracker, in addition to whatever she can muster up."

"T-t-twenty percent." Zofia muttered in horror.

"What? It's not that bad, right?" I asked with worry.

"I can maybe defeat five percent tracker. How… How did she accumulate that much power?"

"Uhh, from me. Look, just get like thirty other versions of yourself and figure it out." I said while moving towards the fiery portal, only to be stopped by unknown forces.

"That's not how this one works, the body stays behind, and your soul passes through. So close your eyes." Zofia said with concern; Not concern for me, but for herself; Judging by her reaction, there was something none of the Guardians told me about my power. As my senses went numb, and my body felt weightless, I was in wonder. " _How much power is twenty percent of my DNA? Were they limiting my power potential out of fear for themselves?"_ Those questions lingered in my mind for what seemed like hours. Could I have been part of something bigger in Zofia's plans. At that moment, I realized what it all was, how it was all connected, and why I was chosen out of the millions of possible Galactic trackers.

I was raised for war, to be the best of the best in every combat related field. On the ground, in the air, behind the strategy, I was the best at all of it… Well, except for fighter management, that award went to Judith Crawford; Nevertheless, I was still the best overall. Zofia wanted me to kill the Gene bearer from universe one, and tried to kill me when I wouldn't comply. She was bent on me defeating that time manipulating ' _speedster'_ as Barry called himself. All those dead soldier said they would prepare me for the war to come, although to my scattered knowledge, there was no impending war coming.

I had more power than every past Galactic tracker combined, and I only received eight months of training compared to the hundreds of thousands of years the Guardians had to hone their skills; Yet… I could still defeat all four of them without much strain. I was supposed to take over other universes, that was her end goal. I could always be way off, simply monologuing in this black emptiness about something completely ludicrous. I just have this feeling Zofia would somehow fineness me into helping her with something again. I probably wouldn't have a choice in the matter, and I'd end up dead once it was all over.

For now that would stay on the backburner, for I saw the light at the end of the tunnel... and it was calling me home.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you to all those who have reviewed, favourited... fovorited... however you spell it, or followed my story. I know this is like a broken record, but a review really goes a long way to encourage me to continue my writing. Even if you criticize it, I'm still going to be thankful for the input to write better.**


	10. Chapter 10: What It Means To Be Human

_Chapter Ten: What It Means To Be Human_

 _It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity._

* * *

Ahh, the light at the end of the tunnel. The thing of focus that would take me to my home, _my_ body, not the body of some doppelganger that died years ago. That one thing gave me an intrigue as to how this all happened, and for that matter, what happened to my body while I was in someone else's.

"I could possibly be convinced to answer that question for you my dear Human." Zofia said from right behind me, so close that I felt her breath running across my neck. She made no attempts to harm me, which was a plus for the current situation; That didn't help the discomfort of her sliding those female mitts of hers around my waist.

"Oh, I wonder who could possibly be responsible for such a _dastardly_ act." I replied while attempting to unravel Zofia's hands from my body, although not much effort was put into it from the simple knowledge of her true strength; If Zofia wanted to let me go, she would see my small request and heed it, otherwise I would be nothing more than a slight breeze against an underground bunker.

"Now, now Elliot-" She started to whisper in my ear while pulling my back closer to her chest. "Don't just jump to conclusions, Why would I have sent you to that deplorable universe?"

"Gee, I don't know, Zofia. Why would you do a thing like that?" I retorted as I folded my arms across my chest.

"I asked first. Now, how did you get into the Obelisk my dear Tracker?" She asked with a lechery laced voice.

That was strange, Shouldn't she know how to get into something made by another universes Raxxlans. "Ahhhhh… I get it now, those things aren't uni-dimensional. The Raxxlans didn't build the thing, it was already there... and you have no idea how it got there!"

"Aww shit, how did I actually let the slip-OH, I know. I have all the power in the universe, so I don't care." Zofia said just before forcing me to the pure white ground, which was followed by her mounting my stomach.

"First off, would you please remove yourself from my chest. Second, you can't have all the power if you couldn't figure out something as simple as entering whatever the Obelisk is. But that does rise the question, how could have I p-" My postulation was so _rudely_ interrupted by both the feeling of Zofia dipping one of her hands to my crotch, and her lips pressing against mine.

"Vif if not affrefiaed." I said with a muffled voice from the onslaught of kisses.

"Oh, like you don't… Riiiiiiight you really don't want what I'm selling." She said with a devious smile from just an inch or two away from my face.

"You're not really selling, more craMMING it down my throat." I responded with a jolt due to a certain squeeze of my nether regions. "Now, if you're done playing with your food, either get on with it or put me in my body." I deadpanned with a lazy stare.

"How could I possibly refuse a request like that." Zofia said moments before letting me stand up. "Just before you go my dear human, I need some information." She added while resting a hand on my chest, which started to glow a bright yellow.

Before I could pull away, all of my muscular control withered away… but that was only the beginning. I felt her reaching into the deepest facets of my mind, ripping massive amounts of information from my mind to the point of forgetting how to talk. It was a most strange feeling, I could still communicate to my own head, but the words just wouldn't come forth.

"Até mais tarde, meu Humano útil." The woman in front of me chirped; How strange that language was.

With her last utterance, I was simply 'popped' back into my body.

* * *

-=Third Pov=-

Elliot's body was currently under life support within the starboard gravity ring. His head was mended, although his brain would take time to heal… That's what Judith's report said anyway. The whole medical center was colored bright white, with the occasional plant here and there. Elliot's room in particular hosted one of the more advanced medical technologies; His body was laid on a bed, and the machine would automatically fix all ailments using one or more of its eight robotic arms. The system was capable of performing surgery down to the genetic level, which gave it the power to heal genetic diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's with ease.

Currently, the only thing it was doing for Elliot was an IV drip of painkiller for when he woke up, which was estimated to be almost seventy-two hours ago. That was one of the reasons Judith Crawford was at his bedside, holding onto her husband's hand. Jacqueline had also visited, albeit more infrequently due to her spending vast quantities of time learning about Human technology and culture.

"Ma'am, you should really get some rest. There's nothing more you can do for him." Second Lieutenant William Dunn said while resting a gentle hand on Judith's shoulder.

"… You're ware of the Flame-stone cannon the FNS Damocles possessed, correct?" Judith asked quietly.

"Yes Ma'am, it was the-"

"Dunn, no Ma'am this and Ma'am that right now." She interrupted with a hoarse voice, simultaneously staring into Elliot's lifeless face.

"Okay Judith, friend mode engaged." William said, which received a small chuckle from Judith.

"Flame-stone cannon revision sixty-three, have you heard of that one?" She asked in the same hoarse voice.

Once Dunn seated himself next to Judith, he noticed her bloodshot eyes and the glistening remnants of dried tears on the blond haired President. "No, I don't think so."

"It's something I developed not three days ago with the Dark energy Elliot gave to me. I found a way to teleport the Flamestone cannon's round through space in an infinite distance. I'd rather not drove into the how, more of the what I can do with it." She said with a long pause in which Judith closed her eyes as her face hardened. "I'm going to kill every last one of those guardians with it."

"A-Are you sure that's wise?" Dunn asked in shock. He heard the childhood stories about the Guardians just like most of the other children in the galaxy, however not much thought was put into it until one of the four Guardians appeared in front of him, and effortlessly defeated him, going as far as to smile and say 'Nice try.'

"Wise, no… necessary, yes. They've done their jobs for thousands of years without quarrel, but the moment someone of greater power meets them, they all lose it and start killing off thousands of people."

"Where did you hear that? I'm not aware of them killing anyone. In fact, didn't they destroy the Thargoid warship for us?" Dunn asked with curiosity, which earned another chuckle from Judith.

"No, William. The Guardian's didn't destroy the warship, they had Elliot do it and sacrifice himself in the process. You were there, shouldn't you remember this better?" She asked while slowly opening her eyes, glancing to the loyal friend.

"I remember him and one of the Guardians working together to do it."

"Yes, but who initiated the energy release?" She asked.

"… Elliot." Dunn mumbled. "Elliot gave the countdown, and Elliot was the one who fell after the energy was fired, not the Guardian."

"Do you see it now? They aren't helping him become a better… whatever it is he's called, they're fattening the pig before it's slaughtered."

"UGH! I can't believe I didn't see this earlier." Dunn said while attempting to keep his temper from boiling over. While Elliot might not remember it, William was saved by the Admiral many years ago on the planet Gradus 229. Elliot was only thirteen at the time, but that made him no less dangerous. In fact it only made him more so, just like a rattlesnake. At adolescence, the snake knows not how much poison to inject, so it injects all of it; That's how Elliot operated for many years as Captain of the FNS Damocles, completely ruthless and calculated, no emotion, no humanity, simply the perfect soldier.

"All I'm waiting for is for Elliot to wake up so he can voice his opinion. Despite my efforts, He still single handedly knows more about the Guardians and their weakness." She said just before standing up, which enticed Dunn to do the same.

"What if he doesn't want you to kill them?" William asked.

"I will respect his decision and do it anyway. I'm still not sure on his mental state as of right now." She said while sauntering to the door.

"Now, now, now, Miss Crawford." Elliot said from the bed, which startled Judith and William. She whipped her head around, and saw Eliot standing next to the table with all his IV lines removed.

"Y-your eyes." She muttered in horror.

"Oh, yes-yes. This is the unfortunate side effect of controlling someone directly." Elliot said while gesturing to his yellow irises and black colored whites of the eye. "Now, I think some explanation is in order, how about you?" Elliot said while extending his hand towards Judith, who only stepped back in response.

"Get the hell out of my husbands body." She seethed in response.

"Hmm, let me think about that." Elliot said as he tapped his chin. "No... Look, I know my actions in the past have been… less than friendly, but I have good reason." He said with defensively extended palms.

"Oh, in that case all is forgiven." Judith said, which resulted in Elliot deadpanning his next sentence.

"Listen well Human. None of you know the extent I will go to to keep this Galaxy safe, even if that means being hated by all. If you would only come with me, take whomever else you choose, _I don't care_. I just need to show you why I've been doing what I have."

"You'll just have to kidnap me then." Judith responded harshly with crossed arms. What Elliot did next would be loosely considered as _unorthodox._

"The Andromeda Galaxy, my first attempts to make a hyper intelligent race of beings. I thought I could control them with the power Elliot possessed… I was wrong. They're headed here to conquer this galaxy, then the next universes galaxy, and the next, and the next, and the next… Paladin warned me about the consequences of creating such a race, that it was a foolish thing to do, that I would loose control of them in no more than a thousand years. I laughed at the prospect of creator being overthrown by creation." Elliot said as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Bullshit." Judith replied.

"Let me ask you something. Do you think the Humans just _discovered_ the Tracker Gene? Do you think they just _stumbled_ across how to manipulate it to their will, creating the perfect tacticians. No, I gave them the means to do so, and while I am explicitly forbidden to alter one's DNA in such a way to create what Elliot is… fellow Humans have no such restrictions."

Judith didn't respond to this, only thinking for a possible way this could be deception. Sure, she could just not believe it, but what if Zofia was telling the truth, what if there was a race of out of control beings coming for them.

"Believe it or not… Elliot was bound to supersede my power, I became scared he would rebel against me just like the Iwu did, so I tried to scare him into obedience. When I leave Elliot's body, ask him if I was captured by eight foot tall human like creatures that came through a vortex. If he says yes, I'm telling you the truth. I suppose I should give his mind back now."

"Yes, that would be appreciated." Judith said coldly.

"Do you wish his powers be returned?" Elliot asked.

"Yes."

"Very well then." Elliot said just before his entire body was encircled in particles of white light, followed by him collapsing on the ground below. When Judith pried his eyelids open, she immediately went wide eyed. His irises were divided into six overlapping and mixing colors.

"What the hell?" Judith muttered, which caused Elliot's pupils to focus in on her. She jumped in surprise from the sight of seeing a lifeless, fully dilated eye sharpen the moment she said something. " _Shit, that was creepy._ Hey Elliot, you in there."

"Don't kill the Guardians, Zofia was telling the truth." Elliot said while muscling himself to his feet. "I need to send a message to the grand court, we need to make bigger ships." Elliot said as he swiftly and expertly navigated the hallways.

"What, this one is already beyond what was thought possible within reason. Elliot, it's almost nine miles long."

"Why are you using that measurement system, it's completely stupid and impractical." Elliot said after he jumped into the gravity free hallway just outside the ring.

"It's what the Raxxlans use, I'm trying to get used to it." Judith replied while in close pursuit. Once she was within reach, Elliot's floating body was whipped around by her grabbing his shoulder. "What did you see, Elliot?"

"If I tell you, will the production of the Flamestone revision six three be ramped up to full production?"

"How did you… nevermind, yes Elliot, I'll put it into production if you tell me what happened." Judith said as she held Elliot's almost naked body by the shoulders.

"At first, Zofia was just being an ass like usual, then she took my mind and all it's memories. Before I made it all the way back to my body-"

"What d-"

"Don't ask." Elliot interjected. "Before I made it back, she stopped me again, and said she was sorry, that this wasn't right. I was taken to the Iwu in spirit, their scout ships are twice this big, Judith. We won't stand a chance without all the help we can get. OH! Do you like my new eyes. I can actually see _everything_ now, every wavelength of electromagnetic energy that I want to see.

"Yay Elliot, that's just fan-freakin-tastic." Judith replied in a less than excited tone.

"Oh, but it's okay. I know how to beat them _if_ I can get into a certain Obelisk. Sam set a course for BYA AOB QM D2 dash-"

"Setting course for Raxxla sir." Sam replied through the intercom system.

"WHAT! We just came back from there, we're almost home, Elliot! Sam belay that order." Judith said with objection.

"I'm sorry Miss President, I don't want to." Sam replied.

"DAMMIT, ELLIOT. You made the computer sentient!" Judith shouted with anger.

"Really?" Elliot replied in curiosity "Sam, when did you achieve sentience?"

"ELLIOT!" Judith yelled.

"Yessssssss." He replied with a smug grin. "Finnneeee, I'll do it myself." Elliot said as he grabbed a rail on one of the walls. "Sam, belay that last order, and open the intercom to the whole ship."

"Of course, Admiral." The computer replied in it's English accent.

"Attention all crew, drop what you're doing, and lay your bare hands of some surface of the ship's hull. If this does not occur, we will teleport and you will not. I don't think any of you wish to be left in the vacuum of space. For those of you that may be injured, simply apply direct skin contact to someone that can touch the hull of the ship… You have two minutes." Elliot said.

"Elliot, what are _you_ going to do?" Judith asked with skepticism.

"Take us to Raxxla, If Zofia would be so kind as to help."

"Sure thing Human." Zofia chirped from behind Judith, who in turn elbowed Zofia in the face. "Really, I'm disappointed in you." Zoifa said while looking at Judith and grabbing the handrail right next to Elliot.

"This _CAN NOT_ be real." Judith said in frustration as she removed a glove, and put her hand on the wall.

"You sure Elliot isn't under her control or something?" Dunn whispered into Judith's ear.

"I'm sure William." Elliot answered.

"WHAAAAAAATTTT!" William squawked.

"Port sah vu mosh, si comb zi vlash." Elliot said.

"I'm sorry, I don't speak gibberish, Elliot." Judith replied.

"Shu rogié via mot suko, ti via shamo." Zofia said while looking at Elliot.

"Oh, this is just great. Two infinitely powerful people resorting to speaking gibberish." Judith said with a defeated grumble afterwards.

"Sam, intercom… Attention all crew, we are jumping in ten seconds. This is not a drill, touch a main part of the ship or you will be left behind. I currently have tally of fifteen thousand doing this, There are over thirty thousand crew onboard this ship, but if you don't touch the hull with bare skin this ship will loose half of its crew." Elliot said while looking directly into Dunn's eyes.

"Wait, you're serious?" Dunn asked with surprise.

"Of course if serious." Elliot responded. "Current tally is twenty-nine thousand nine-hundred and seventy-two individual DNA signatures. Opening the Void-Space travel." Elliot said calmly as he gripped the ship's railing tighter.

* * *

-=Raxxla, tail of the Norma Arm=-

"As I stand here before you fine ladies and gentle-mammals, I am proud to announce the Zootopian defense system online." A male lion standing in front of a massive gimballed dish said into dozens of microphones, which was followed by the thunderous sounds of clapping from thousands of citizens. "I have been fully assured that If another Alien ship should try to inflict harm on this great city of ours, it shall be obliterated by the determination of Daurailia!" The lion shouted into the podium as the apartment building sized weapon started rotating it's massive dish to point into the heavens. This elicited even more cheers and clapping from the ecstatic people of zootopia. There were a few that chose not to celebrate, and those watched from afar with contempt of the weapons danger to Humans.

"It's funny they think that thing will actually destroy a Human ship." Nick said as he leaned up against the balcony of his apartment.

"They did say it was more powerful than anything any species had ever seen before." Officer Fangmeyer said as she walked behind the much smaller Fox.

"Oh really? Like we actually _know_ how powerful their ships are. Last time the humans visited, you were kidnapped, all our weapons bounced off like foam darts, and my partner ended up in the hospital." Nick said with animosity.

"He did say he'd come back and save her, ya-know." Fangmeyer cooed while resting one of her enormous paws on Nick's shoulder.

"That was almost four months ago, and Judy's only getting worse Lola." Nick replied as he stared blankly at the newly built city defenses. "Did Wolford ever text you? I'm starting to think we should just start without him." Nick asked as he padded across the eggshell painted apartment in search for his phone.

"Nick, I-I think you were right a-about the defenses being inadequate." Lola said with a fearful shudder in both speech and body.

Slowly but surely, a looming shadow that cast out the sun itself started revealing from a purple cloud of lightning and gas, which formed out of thin air. Within seconds of the shape starting to take shape, the sounds of air raid sirens blared throughout the city, and the anti-air guns started opening up with all they had. Hundreds upon hundreds of explosive impact points struck the mighty craft above, yet they seemed only like small puffs of gunpowder compared to the shear size of what loomed overhead.

Both Lola and Nick intently stared at the dish that was supposed to save the city. Once it rotated directly toward the Alien craft that was now halfway emerged from the cloud of purple lightning gas, the dish started glowing bright green. One by one, smaller lasers started firing into a focal cone which protruded from the center of the dish. The focal point seemed to be a capacitor of sorts, and one it reached full, a much larger beam of green energy was hurtled at the monstrosity.

"Aaaannd, there it is… Completely ineffective." Nick said in an unsurprised tone as he rested his muzzle in a paw.

By the time the Raxxlan weapon finished it's futile volley of green energy, HDF Messenger had come out of Void-Space travel. Nick looked lazily back up to the ship, and once he realized it wasn't like the previous one that visited, his eyes started to open a bit wider. If one word were to be used in describing the feat of engineering overhead, it would have to be ' _Damn'_. The stupor imposing ship seemed so massive, nothing in the universe could possibly bring it to the ground. Extending well past both sides of Zootopia's mountain ranges to the north west, and the seas of the south east. But it wasn't just far longer than the city, it almost extend to both shores opposite of the peninsula where Zootopia was built upon. The whole city was sent into darkness at 2:30 in the afternoon, par for two, 1.8 kilometer wafers of sunlight where the gravity rings made a cavitation in the ship. Suffice to say the People of Raxxla bit off too much to swallow.

The main body was triangular in shape, which tapered a higher angle outward towards the stern. At around halfway down the length of the craft, its midsection turned into a gap where fighters could safely take off and land. It held nearly fifteen-hundred of Judith's specialty fighters in the two prongs.

In addition to the sheer mass of what hovered above millions of panicking Mammals, four slotted beams of immense size protruded from each side of the ship, two on each side; These weren't parts of the hull, no, they were the class seven Railguns built specifically for destroying Thargoid Cruisers in a single shot. Each electromagnet rail was just over a kilometer long, and required massive infrastructure to support it under gravity, such as this moment. You may be asking yourself, what would this thing actually fire? A fourteen-hundred by seven-thousand millimeter, armor penetrating Thermonuclear filled warhead which was capable of reaching speeds of eight-thousand five-hundred and seventy five kilometers per hour… Mach seven; It could penetrate nearly a thousand feet of reinforced concrete, or over a kilometer of earth.

Oh how I could go on about the dozens of orange pulse laser anti air, dark blue beam driver cannons, but the one thing that deserves to be explained was the Flamestone cannons on the front; Mounted in a fixed position, the dual, orange beam firing weapons were capable of bringing any solid object to critical mass without it having special properties. You could fire the weapon at a pile of dirt, and have a fission reaction come out of it. Elliot Knew far too well what the weapon was potentially capable of.

"Afráta alepoú." Elliot said inches away from Nick's e pointed ear, which caused him to jump about three feet vertically.

After a few panicked breaths while Nick grasped his chest, he responded. "YOU, Come with me. You have a promise to keep." Nick demanded as he carelessly tugged Elliot by his newfound clothing; A blue, Electroluminescent compression battlesuit suit matching Zoifa's red one.

"Ya-know, I forgot all about that. It has been seven years ya-know… At least for me. Later Lola!" Elliot shouted as he waived at the large, stunned tiger before he was dragged out the door by the much smaller Fox.

"Uhh..." Lola mumbled while eyeballing the other human in the room, who seemed completely lax around the nine foot tall Bengal Tiger.

"Does Nick have any good beer. I always like the way Raxxlan's brewed it." Zofia said while dipping her head into the fridge across the room.

"N-no, he doesn't drink." She replied in an attempt to distract the Human while she grabbed her sidearm.

"Lola Joyce Fangmeyer. Age, thirty-eight, husband, deceased, mother of two." Zofia said as she continued scouring the kitchen for Alcohol. Due to the sudden darkness, and lack of turned on lights, Zofia's Compression battlesuit slightly illuminated the area's around her.

"H-hhh-how?" Lola stammered with terror.

Zofia simply looked toward the Tigris and flashed her eyes bright brown for a few seconds. "Well, I know everything about you my simple Raxxlan. I know your job status, your love interests, your deepest desires… Dammit, I really need to stop scaring people like that. Sorry… for that bit of uncanny behavior, I'm still trying to reorient myself with the light that shines within. . . Finally!" She squealed while holding up a bottle of unopened malt liquor. "And you said he didn't drink."

"… Uh-huh, it's for if he gets an injury." Lola replied as she inched closer to the handgun in her bag. Zofia simply plopped herself on the couch and turned on the TV without as much as a thought about grabbing the remote.

"Attention all Zootopia citizens. The humans have returned, and our defense cannon has no apparent effect, although we have confirmation the Yepreutan state guard are in full swing against these hostile invaders." A moose newscaster said from his seated position behind the news desk.

"Now, now, now. This is one thing I thoroughly dislike about your people. We haven't so much as dropped a pillow on you, and you say we're hostile invade-" Zofia's rant was interrupted by three decisively place gunshots to the head, left lung, and right lung. To lola's piss-inducing terror, the Human simply craned her head around and displayed a squinted face. "Are you serious bro?" She asked.

"S-Shhhhit."

"Like, the hell was that for? I'm just sitting here, and you put a cap in me… did I say that right?" She asked.

"Y-yeah." Lola replied.

"Good, now you're going to sit next to me on this horribly designed couch, and explain why you just shot me." Zoifa said in a commanding tone.

"I-I'd rat-"

"SIT." Zoifa ordered.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

"Nick, I really don't see why the sirens and lights are necessary, Judy's going to be fine." I said from the back seat of Nick's squad car.

"Every second of delay could mean she dies, I can't loose her, Elliot. She's my best friend." Nick said as tears started streaming down his face. I decided it was quite foolish for Nick to be driving this fast, and through the dark to add. With my regained knowledge, I slowly but surely started depressing the brake pedal with my Psychokinetics until the car came to a stop; Good thing the transmission used a fluid coupling to provide power between the engine and transmission.

"NO! Come on you piece of junk!" Nick shouted a few seconds before he resorted to hitting the steering wheel. The second his third punch made contact, the airbag deployed and knocked out the Tod.

"Oh my little afráta alepoú." I started to coo as I pulled the limp fox from the vehicle, walking toward the hospital while I held him like an infant. On my way, several civilians laid fearful eyes on me, not that I really cared what others thought. " _Only through actions will your true personality be revealed."_ I thought while casually walking up the steps to the hospital in which Judy Hopps resides. The second someone saw me through the main door, they attempted to lock it remotely, which was partially successful I suppose. The door's electric opening mechanism did shut off, but that still left the hinges in case of a power outage; The wolf security guard made no attempts to stop me as I walked to the receptionists desk.

"Umm, Ma'am. This officer was knocked out by his airbag, he has an MTIB and a contusion of his forehead." I said while laying Nick on the desk.

"Di-did you do it?" The deer asked fearfully.

"No, he's actually m..." I paused in that moment, debating if it were better to distance myself from him. "He's someone I met the first time around. Nice guy I suppose. I also need the room number of one Judith Hopps, I owe her a favor that needs to be cashed."

"I-I can't just release patient information, S-sir." The deer replied while cautiously taking her seat.

"I won't force you to give it to me, but just look up the file, and see her condition. Without my help, she'll be dead within the week."

"I-I see… It says in the re-report that an alien cut her spine."

"Yes, I'm aware of the mistake my predecessor made." I said just before walking into the employees only section.

"SIR! You can't just wander back there."

"I'm not wandering, I'm headed to floor five, room eighteen B." I replied, which earned wide eyes from the deer.

The further I walked into the building, the more and more I disliked how my ship cast this place into darkness. Sure, it made one hell of a first impression, but at this point it was just getting annoying. "No matter. I'm almost there anyway." I said to myself once I spotted Judy's room. When I opened the door, I was met with three pairs of eyes, all of which happened to be rabbits.

"Mister and Misses Hopps, How nice to see you again." I said with a bow that made me realize I wasn't wearing normal clothing, but an electric blue compression battle-suit. " _How did that get there?"_

"YOU!" Mister Hopps seethed while pointing at me with a finger.

"Oh, can it rabbit stew. I'm here to heal your daughter… and _your_ fiancee I assume." I said while looking at the tan Jackrabbit.

"How did you know that?" The rabbit asked in a voice completely void of fear. This prompted me to kneel down in front of the three foot jackrabbit.

"You see my fancy rabbit friend. Look at my eyes for a quick moment."

"... What the carrots is wrong with them?" He asked.

"Nothing's wrong beside the fact the some might think my eyes are homosexual because of the color. This just means I'm special, I have certain… gifts, I guess you could say. Perhaps a demonstration?" I rhetorically asked the three conscious rabbits in the room.

"You stay away from my daughter." Stu said as he cocked the hammer belonging to comically sized handgun. My simple response was holding out my arm with the palm of my hand facing the gun, causing the whole thing to self-dissemble and fall on the floor in a dozen pieces.

"Now-now Stu, you don't really have an option in this." I said while pulling the intravenous lines from Judy's arms, removing the tubes from her throat, and kinetically removing the VAD system from her heart. This of course was accompanied by the protests of her parents, but not the fiancee strangely enough. I ended up simply suspending them in the air with my Psychokinetics to prevent tampering with my procedure.

The moment I laid my hands over the entirety of Judy's chest and stomach, the Hopps started protesting verbally, which really started getting under my skin. "Would you two just shut up already! If he was going to kill Judy, it would be over with by now." The jackrabbit yelled at the Hopps, which seemed to do the trick. "I don't know who you are, but if you can heal Judy, I'll help anyway I can." The Tan rabbit said with pleading brown eyes.

"She picked a good one..." I said, which earned a smile. "I hope." I added just as the white particles of light started enveloping Judy's body in some places, penetrating her skin in others. "They cause no pain, give no scars, and don't cause side effects. How they work, I do not know." I said as the light intensified just below Judy's breasts, right where her spine was severed. Every few minutes, I would give the Hopps a reassuring glance that eventually started to dent their worried faces.

"You guys are amazing parents, ya-know. I would have loved to have some like yourselves." I said while looking at the two still suspended in the air.

"… I'm sure yours were as loving as they can be." Bonnie replied.

"Nah, they were killed when I was seven. Don't worry though, it's been almost a hundred and twenty years for me, and I worked past it." I said nonchalantly.

"Oh..." Bonnie replied with remorse for her previous statement.

"Okay. Her body's all good to go, I just need to reinstall her spirit." I said while retrieving a canister from thin air. "Just… don't think about it too much." I said seconds before placing one end of the cylinder over Judy's heart. Not two seconds later, and the rabbit opened her purple eyes.

"Elliot, you little prick. How could you have cut my back like that?" She asked with annoyance. I simply touched my finger to her forehead, and the tears came forward. "That pain… h-how could you survive it?" She asked with her shining orbs staring into mine.

"Simple… I'm the Galactic tracker."

"Oh yeah?… So, do you change your eye color by the day?" She asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Heh-heh, no. I'm hoping these will be the final set. OH, that reminds me." I said as I tested the glowing function in my irises. Sure enough, they started irradiating the visible color spectrum to match which portions were what color. "Goodbye for now Judy." I said while ceasing the glow in my eyes, walking to the door, and letting the floating Hopps touch the ground again.

"Elliot, thanks for saving me… even though it was your fault to begin with." Judy said with a gratefully smug smile.

"Anytime Little bunny." I replied before closing the door to her room. When I turned to my right to exit the facility, I was met with a two leveled firing line of wolves, a few types of Cats, and a single Fox.

"Human, surrender now or die trying to escape." The apparent leader ordered. That demand was made hollow in about two seconds flat due to the disassembly of every weapon they possessed.

"I'm going to leave now, and you're not going to stop me." I said while approaching the now panicking animals. They seemed incapable of retreat though, simply standing frozen with fear. " _Soldiers my ass."_ I thought.

"P-please don't hurt me." One of the younger ones pleaded, the only Fox and a woman to add on top of it. I thought about it for a few moments, deciding on how I would possibly repair the damages I dealt six months ago in the desert sand.

I would sit and wait. That's what I did, I sat right there in the middle of the linoleum floor, criss-cross applesauce. "You need not fear me. While I am a giant of power and influence, I wish nothing more to make peace with your people." I said softly while staring into the Vixens amber eyes; the first thing that crossed my mind when I laid eyes on those… eyes, was Ella's face. I saw so much of Ella in this Vixen that it was like they could be sisters. The same pure white fur, the same amber eyes, although without the slit. It was so hard for me to not pull that stranger into a hug, and even harder not to break into tears.

"That's exactly what someone would say when their invading us." One of the other ones countered.

"What are we, six. This isn't some school playground… Please help me understand what I have done wrong so that I may correct it."

"Take me onto your ship." The female responded, which caused the squad of _soldiers_ to stare intently at her.

"You think it to be wise for such an action?" I asked with and unrelenting gaze into the very soul of the female. I was actually looking into her memories, experiences, emotions, and all it took was for me to look at her eyes.

"You could have slaughtered us, but you sat down. You could have your ship destroy the city, but it's moving away as we speak. I think you're telling the truth, and to prove I'm right, I want to come with you."

"… No." I replied as I stood up. If I spent any more time with the Vixen, I probably wouldn't be able to hold in my tears. "I will, however be your friend since we both know you're lacking in that department. Whaddya say?" I asked with an extended, albeit gloved and illuminated hand. It took moment or two, but the fox eventually relented, and shook my hand with her smaller paw. " _You imbecile!"_ I screamed into my own head, yet my body seemed to have a mind of it's own right now.

"The rest of you are to return to whatever it was you were doing." I said as I started to assemble the rifles and handgun parts spread across the floor.

"The PFC will accompany me to The Messenger, I've changed my mind if you still wish to come." I said while looking slightly down at the arctic fox in olive drab combat gear.

"What if I say no?" The squad leader asked in a threatening tone, which prompted me to glow my rainbow colored eyes; That was all it took for him to back down.

Once the grabbed her weapons, we started walking towards the coast of Zootopia, which was still partially shrouded in darkness. Most of our journey was spent in silence, however once there was no sign of any living thing nearby, I was unexpectedly tackled by the fox. I haphazardly rolled onto my back, meeting the muzzle of her rifle in my face.

"Now, we both know that won't work on m-" **BANG** "Just like I said, ineffective." I said while moving the floating bullet closer to the foxes eye level.

"I knew it was you." She responded. "You're the same human that Jacqueline fell for." She said while thumbing the safety on.

"You know Jacqueline?" I asked while sitting upright.

"She's my roommate, and FYI, I wasn't scared. The names Rhea by the way."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of in being scared of someone like myself." I replied just before Zofia popped in out of a cloud of burning embers.

"Are you alright?" She asked, simultaneously hoisting Rhea from the drag handle on her plate carrier.

"Just a test, Z. You can go back to your liquor now." I replied while lazily looking at the choking fox.

"Oh, okay." She chirped after setting the fox down, followed by pulling a lolly pop out of nowhere. "Sorry for the inconvenience." Zofia said while tucking the red candy into a molly loop on the vest, which received flattened ears and a displeased glare from Rhea.

Just as fast at Zoifa showed up in a cloud of embers, she disappeared into one. "Is she special like you?" Rhea asked while rubbing her neck.

"Nope. She gave me my power." I said as I handed Rhea her rifle.

"Huh, okay then… So what happened to Jacqueline?"

"Ahh, the frisky feline. The most recent thing of significance was me breaking her nose because she tried to force herself on me."

"Hahahaha…. NO. Fricken. WAY!" Rhea squealed in laughter; Ugh, even her laugh sounded like Ella's laugh. This prompted me to sit at the nearest bench, which happened to be a partially sheltered bus stop. I simply shut off my ears and eyes to prevent a breakdown. Silent darkness, it helped slightly, and I thought I was about to regain control, then she touched my cheek with a soft paw pad; That was all it took for me to loose the control for disabling senses.

I opened my eyes, and was met with the amber counterparts of Rhea staring at me. "Hey, I didn't mean to make you sad, I just thought it was funny Jacqueline actually tried to do that to someone with your power."

"I… I didn't have my power then, it was gone briefly, and all my physical attributes were gone with it. I was basically as strong as a baby against her. A-and now that y-you're here, I'm losing my shit again."

"What, why?" She asked with concern.

"You look identical to my daughter, Jacqueline shot her in front of me." Before Rhea had a chance to respond, the sound of distant thunderclaps sounded, which only grew louder with each boom. She started to become concerned with the noise, and what it really was. I however knew very well what that sound was. "Look, don't worry about what I just said. We have a parade to watch." I said as the first Imperial Clone Officer rounded the street. He seemed to be all on his own, but the ear defining thumps coming from around the corner indicated this was not the case. Soon, thousands of Clone soldiers wearing their solid state armor rounded the corner, perfectly unifying their steps. Behind the clones were followed by even more of Andy assault droids, which looked like different, shorter clones unless you looked closer.

"Present. ARMS!" One of the androids shouted, which caused the rest to raise their right arm to the opposing shoulder, then throw the arm towards the ground like you were slicking off water; Where their hands used to be now displayed a glowing ball of purple plasma within it's poised launcher.

"And they said we were ready." Rhea mumbled.

* * *

 **A/N: Even though it's slightly early to actually write this, I'd like to thank Merecor for helping me choose a new profile picture.**


	11. Chapter 11: The Raxxlan Accord

_Chapter Eleven: The Raxxlan Accord_

 _Peace is not made at the council table or by treaties, but in the hearts of men._

* * *

"You were as ready as you could have been. We weren't ready for the Thargoid planetary destroyer to attack earth." I replied to ease Rhea's downcast mood.

"Thargoid?" She asked while looking at me.

"Another race of aliens, far less visually appealing than humans."

"Says you."

"Lets see you willingly sit inches away from a seven foot tall Praying Mantis."

"… Ewww." She responded before we returned our attention to the assemblage of HDF troops marching down the street; All the men, women, clones, and androids were wearing full battle equipment. The clones wore their smooth, modular protection uniform, and the unlucky clones responsible for carrying their squads portable shield generator had a large rectangular prism attached to their back. The androids wore nothing by the Multicam Battle Dress Uniform on their bodies. All weapons and ammunition were stored within the humanoid robot, which was evident from the plasma accelerator currently replacing their right hands. The human soldiers didn't wear a whole lot more than the clones, although the big difference was their Exoskeletons being far more pronounced to compensate for Humanity's lack of strength; The clones on the other hand were already much stronger as well as physically bigger, standing at eight feet tall.

"I'm just going to assume when you said Jacqueline shot your daughter, there's a bit more to it than what I heard." Rhea blurted while intently studying the Mechanized battalion of troops.

"Yeah, she killed my Daughter, but at the same time she didn't." I replied with anticipation for the next column of weapons to come around the corner. "Rhea, you remember in the news a few months ago when a giant scorpion aided us in capturing the police?"

"Yeah." She replied with splayed ears.

"Would you like to go for a ride on its smaller version?" I asked seconds before the very Scorpion Assault Drone _started_ rounding the corner. Due to it's immense size, the drone was forced to take up both lanes of the street, as well as towering almost five stories into the air with it's tail mounted Gatling cannon raised. This was the much smaller, and more common version of the Scorpion Assault Drone, which was dwarfed by the Prototype version developed in tandem with the New Horizon wormhole generator. That model very closely resembled the dimensions of a Football field (Rugby), I imagined that was the reason we didn't deploy those into the city streets.

"I'm good, but thanks anyway." She replied as the towering, six-legged robot walked by.

"Suit yourself." I said with a shrug.

Next up in the seemingly unending line of troops and weapons were the Martha security drones. Sleek, black, and highly maneuverable, the winged VTOL craft were no bigger than a washing machine or dryer. They had a single blue illuminated camera mounted to a gimbal housing within the crafts upper glacis, however right now the eye was colored red, and the Police lights were flashing; Its argon filled Tesla tubes were also deployed at the wingtips, although the lower glacis mounted Plasma Accelerator was not. Dozens upon dozens of the small craft hovered by as they gave off a muffled jet engine sound.

Finally taking up the rear were Judith's private guard, only four in total. "Why are there only four of them?" Rhea asked in a whisper as she pointed to the plane of soldiers.

"They're my sisters private guard." I whispered in response. "Sorry, not sister, wife. I get confused sometimes." I corrected, which earned an eyebrow raising from Rhea.

"Wheres their armor? All I see are the green pants, and tan shirts."

"That is their armor. It's very time consuming to explain, but rest assured, those three men and one woman are the most dangerous thing in this parade… Well, besides my wife herself." I whispered just before the soldiers turned invisible.

"Whoa! Did they just teleport or something!?" Rhea asked while standing from the bench to take a closer look. Against my warning, she walked out into the street, and started searching for the four soldiers. Not ten seconds went by before she was picked up by one of the invisible soldiers and brought back to the bench.

"Elliot, would you please keep your daughter under control. I have a meeting to go to." Judith said while momentarily disabling her Q.R. field; Just like the rest of the soldiers and drones, she was wearing full battle rattle, which consisted of the adaptive camouflage G-suit and her EXO-35 Flying Falcon wingsuit; All of this had taken on a grayscale color pallet to match the city streets.

"Am I invited?" I asked her.

"Your attendance is mandatory. Egó akóma den xéro ti synévi me sas kai Zofia. Allá Elliot, parakaló na mou peíte an káti den eínai sostó." Judith finished in a pleading tone.

 _I still don't know what happened with you and Zofia. But Elliot, please tell me if something isn't right._

"Den tha prépei na kánete erotíseis ópos óti ótan polý kalá gnorízete tin apántisi." I replied with a frown.

 _You should not ask questions like that when you very well know the answer._

"Then help me-"

"STOP… Judith, just stop." I pleaded while standing up "Just know that you'll be safe, that's what matters." I added just before walking in the direction of the mechanized battalion. Rhea was quick to catch up with me as well as Judith and her guards. The ladder had opted to disable their Quantum refraction fields, and gave up walking in a parade formation altogether. By the time we caught up with the rest of the formation, The Messenger had moved far off the coast, returning the city of Zootopia it's afternoon light.

"Where are we going?" Rhea asked from my side.

There was a slight delay in my answer while I probed Judith's mind for the location of our meeting point. "ZPD precinct one, the main lobby oddly enough."

"Elliot!" Judith squawked once I finished my sentence.

"Yeah." I replied after she walked up to me, leaning close to my ear.

"Don't you dare read my mind again." She hissed at a near whisper.

"Yeesh, you treat it like it'll give you stage four or something."

"I'm serious, Elliot." Judith snipped with vexation.

"Okay, okay." I replied while holding up my palms defensively. "Moving onto more pressing things. Why do I need to be at this meeting?"

"You're going to be the moderator for both parties. No bias is to be given to either side, and since you're magically _friends_ with Zofia now, you have a greater responsibility than to just the human race. I did get that part right, right?" She asked just as we spotted the Police headquarters.

"I suppose… Oh, and I'd like to talk to you about our marital status."

"Are we finally going to fix that stupid decision all those years ago?" She asked with hopefulness.

"Yes, and I have the whole thing worked out so I can still be considered a bachelor and you a bachelorette."

"Oh goodie, goodie." Judith said with excitement.

"Hold up, you two are married, and you're getting a divorce. How are you not all mad at each other about something?" Rhea asked with confusion.

"A very simple question deserves a simple answer, which this is not. I'll explain it later." I replied while looking down at the Arctic Fox in military wears. My reasoning for not droving into the subject any further was the need to concentrate on the thousands of soldiers finding their places all around the small park just outside Precinct one. All the living soldiers were on the left side, facing towards the main doors of the building, and the non-living personnel were on the right side. All were standing in a parade rest formation, par for the single Scorpion assault drone standing directly over the small pond in the center of the park.

"This is ridiculous, Why would you possibly need so many troops?"

"Ehh, I thought it would instill our power better." Judith replied with as shrug.

"And the Farragut Interdictor blocking out the sun didn't?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I didn't think about that, okay!" She squawked defensively "Eagle-one to HDF Messenger, come in Messenger." Judith said into her radio.

"Send traffic Eagle-one, over." A man on the other end replied.

"I need transport for parade formation six, how copy? Over."

"Roger Eagle-one, dispatching five Corvettes to your location. Wing leader's call sign is Procter, how copy? Over."

"Eagle-one copies all, over… Elliot, there's-"

"Yep, I heard it." I replied.

"But you don't have a radio." She countered.

"You don't need one when you're omnipresent." I said with a smug smile. My proclamation seemed to leave Judith completely stunned, forcing me to guide her by the shoulders in the direction of Precinct one, which was just fifty or sixty meters away. Just as we reached the first step of the building, the first triangular Federal Corvette edged over the whole park and a good portion of the Police building. I was quite curious how they planned to pick up the few thousand soldiers without being able to land anywhere, however that was interrupted by the beckoning of one Chief Bogo.

"Long time no see." I said as I walked past him, only receiving a grunt in response.

"Sorry, no personal except the Human representatives, and her private guard." Bogo said while blocking the path of Rhea.

"Let her through Chief, PFC Lula is my temporary guard until I can find a full time counterpart."

" _*Sigh_ * Like you really need a guard." He replied after stepping out of the way. "It's like you have a new wardrobe every time I see you. Last time it was the gray camouflage, and now it's this glowing laser tag uniform."

"Hey, don't mock the armor. This could withstand one of those tomahawk missiles you shot at me last time my people landed on your beaches." I countered, leaving the chief of police in a stupor.

A large, oblong table had been brought in and set up just behind the supporting pillar in the main lobby. Dozens of animals wearing suits were sitting at the table, most with more than displeased expressions. There were a few camera crews for documentation purposes, although not nearly as many as expected. Judith took her seat at one of the table ends, opposite to an elephant on the other end. One of the police officers attempted to show me my seat, although all it took was for me to illuminate my eyes and smile for him to leave me alone.

"...Uhh… Mister Crawford, why have you not taken your seat?" A lion with the name tag Lionheart asked.

"I'm not here to debate on the side of Humanity. I'm simply the moderator if you will; I won't have any bias to either side-"

"How could we possibly expect that when you're a human?" A deer asked with suspicion.

"That would normally be true, but I'm not human even though I may look the part. Now, what I'm about to tell you is highly classified, it is for that reason all camera systems have just been disabled." I said seconds before the camera crews started fiddling with their equipment. Just before starting my next sentence, I hopped atop the large table. "I am currently the Galactic tracker instated to keep peace between the four species of the galaxy. Some of you may have noticed my eyes are of a strange nature, this isn't simply a colored contact. I have several _markers_ if you will that indicate my position, although the obvious thing is the abilities I possess."

"What kind of _abilities_?" Lionheart inquired.

"The kind of power capable of destroying entire planets with enough effort." I said just before creating a small sphere of light-sucking dark energy in my hands. "Anyway. I have no loyalties to humanity, nor to you. I have the absolute power, and that makes me the optimal moderator for both parties." I said, which seemed to satisfy the Raxxlan representatives. upon stepping off the table, I walked to a small line of chairs on the second level of the building to give me a vantagepoint over the whole meeting. Once I seated myself, Rhea found the chair right next to me, where she began intently staring at my hand, even going as far as to mess with my fingers haphazardly.

The meeting was started shortly after, and the formalities were breezed through, but when the topic of our… When the topic of the Terran technology came into play, the Raxxlans were convinced Humanity had no choice in sharing their knowledge; Judith's way of dealing with that was flat out saying 'no'. I thought I wouldn't have to intervene through the whole meeting, although when the Raxxlan military started questioning about the purchase of Andy mark eights for _peacekeeping_ purposes, I was forced to intervene. The entire three hours, par for my introduction had gone without me to be seen anywhere, so you might expect when I phased on top of the table from the second floor, more than a few animals were wide eyed.

"You will not receive any such technology from the Terran people, nor shall you expect to be given what has taken them thousands of years to develop. You will be content with what you have created, and you must go through trial and error just as they have." I said with authority.

"And why should I listen to you? Just because you can turn invisible, and make a little ball of black means I should just bow down and-" The cheetah in military dress seemed to suddenly have a hard time breathing.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" I asked while the Mammal grasped it's throat in an attempt for air.

"Your mother must not have taught you manners as a child. No only are you asking, no, _demanding_ the humans give over their technology as if you would just take it if they didn't comply, you decided to try your luck with a being capable of creating a black hole with his mind." I said, releasing the Cheetahs airway shortly after. He began to violently gasp for air, which died down after eight or nine gasps.

"Now, if anyone has any other things to be worked out, now would be the time. If not, I will finalize the agreement… Very well. By the power invested in me by the DNA I possess, I hereby state that no Human shall enter this system without the proper permits, nor shall any Daurilian be removed from Daurilia without the proper documents for travel. Daurilia shall be given no technological tools for their own gain. One Majestic class Interdictor will be kept in high orbit under the command of Terran diplomatic forces to safeguard Daurilia from Human visitations. Daurilia will permit a maximum of one-hundred and fifty Humans on the planet at any given moment, but no more are permitted unless it is a special occasion. In addition to the migratory limits, Daurilia will give a full anatomical report on all intelligent species living on this planet. The Human Defense Forces will also provide an in depth report of their anatomy."

"And why would that be important?" The elephant to my left asked.

"Simple… Should one of your individual species somehow come into contact with the other species, you need to know how their body works, what they can eat, and medical procedures. If I have not forgotten any matters regarding the Raxxlan Accord, this treaty shall now be put into effect."

* * *

-=Fifteen minutes later=-

"That was a load of BS." Judith said in an upset tone.

"Why? The Raxxlans are the ones with the most restrictions, all we're limited on is habitation of the planet, and it's not like they can just come on over to inhabited space." I replied while pushing the front doors of the ZPD open for Judith and Rhea.

"I think it should be okay now that you can't take over the planet or anything." Rhea added with enthusiasm.

"Do you really think that?" Judith added with a snide chuckle. "The only thing keeping Humanity from taking over the planet is your complete lack of anything we need, and the part where _we're_ guarding the planet, not you."

"Don't forget me, Judith. I won't hesitate to destroy any ships that attempt a genocidal act, with or without out you on board." I said with a serious interjection. Just as we reached the last step of the Police headquarters, a Vulture superiority fighter circled overhead, eventually landing to pick up Judith and her guards.

"Elliot, don't get left behind now." Judith joked from the passenger ramp.

"I'm staying here for awhile. I have a few relationships to repair." I replied, which turned Judith's lighthearted smile into a stern glare.

"So you'll fix friendships but not partnerships, huh?" She said with a choler mannerism.

"That's not what I meant, I'll ge-"

"WHEN, ELLIOT! You need to get your priorities straight!"

"I DON'T LOVE HER ANYMORE!" I yelled in frustration. " _You son of a BITCH."_ My mind yelled at me. Not like it was enough to have my best friend telling me I was doing it wrong, but now my own head felt the need to say the same thing as well. "Just… go." I said before walking away for the sole purpose of defusing the argument, which was something I never wished to partake in. Now more than ever would I need to keep my emotions in check, otherwise one slip up of the mind and I could kill whomever I was in disagreement with.

I was relieved Judith didn't attempt to stop me, although I also wished Rhea hadn't tagged along in my journey through the foreign city. Now that I thought about it, the only places I visited in the city were the hospital after I was shot by Stu Hopps, and the places visited today. Of course that wasn't including the simulation version of Zootopia, which was a perfect representation to be fair. Somehow in my thoughts about the simulation, I inadvertently ended up five or six blocks to the southwest of Precinct one, right at the park where I met my virtual daughter.

"Of course I would end up here of all places." I mumbled while passing the gates into the deserted park; It seemed like even though all the air raid sirens and anti-air ceased fire hours ago, the citizens were still in full lockdown mode.

"What's so special about here?" Rhea asked while running her no longer gloved paws through the foliage on our tree-covered dirt trail.

"I met you- I mean my daughter… Right. There." I said from a slightly bent posture, which allowed me to point directly over Rhea's shoulder at an empty patch of concrete trail surrounded by grass.

"Why do you keep confusing the two of us? I-if it's not too personal." She asked with kindness.

"Do you mind me invading your mind to show you?" I asked while restarting our dawdle through the tree covered park.

"Hold up for a second." Rhea said while adjusting her rifle to a more comfortable position on the green plate-carrier. "You can do that?" She asked with intrigue.

"Well… yes. I can do a multitude of things, all of which are beyond the normal spectrum of… _things._ " I said with a loss for a better word, which only heightened Rhea's curiosity.

"Could you show me? I saw the thing with your hand, but I don't have a clue on what it was." She asked with hopeful eyes.

"Sorry, even then I shouldn't have used my power, let alone go as far as choking a military officer with Psychokinetics." I said downheartedly due to my momentary loss of control.

"Aww, c'mon, no one else will see."

"Are you ticklish, Rhea? Because my daughter was quite so, and I mastered the art of tickle punishments." I said with poised fingers.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha. Yes, I'm quite ticklish, although I seem to be in suitable protection." Rhea replied with a smirk as she knocked on her frontal armor plate.

"Hmm, I could always remove it with my P.K."

"P.K?" She asked with a tilted head.

"Psychokinetics."

"OOH! Yes, doitdoitdoit!" She squealed while pumping her fists in front of her face.

"Nahh, I need to find the piano." I said just before walking off to where I found the deserted and neglected instrument in the L.T.I.C. simulation. I failed to notice Rhea attempting to fix her Plate Carrier while trying to keep pace with me, ending in her accidentally pulling the emergency disassembly cord. I only turned around when I heard a loud thunk, which was followed by a frustrated huff from the Arctic fox in Olive Drab Bdu's.

"Would you please stop?… I'm not used to this stupid armor." Rhea asked with tired exasperation.

"Why not, you're a Private first class, no? Shouldn't you be familiar with the equipment by now?" I asked with intrigue.

The facial expression I received was one of great internal debate. It seemed Rhea was deciding whether she was willing to tell me something, and while I could easily drove into the depths of her mind, I was trying to move away from those sorts of actions when possible. "You can't tell _anyone_ about this, okay?"

"You do realize you're talking to someone who used to be a proverbial doomsday weapon even before my powers." I said with a raised eyebrow.

"Really? NO, don't get me off topic." She replied while looking around the immediate vicinity for any sorts of eavesdropping.

"There isn't another intelligent life form within three-hundred meters, so tell me what's so secretive about you and that armor." I said with crossed arms and a tapping foot; I was starting to suspect Rhea of infiltration into the Yepruetan state guard.

"I'm not really in the state guard-" Out of instinct, I formed a marble size sphere of Dark Energy between two fingers. "Whoa-Whoa-Whoa" She said with holding out defensive paws. "I'm a YIA operative. Look, my badge is implanted right into my wrist." Rhea added while parting the white fur on her wrist, which revealed a hairline scar. "I'm not even an arctic fox, this is just dye."

"Then what are you?" I asked while bending to the three and a half foot mystery Mammals height.

"I'm a Lycalopex Culpaeus."

"Lie-call, Lie-cal-o… Could you say it again?"

"Ha, something the magic male can't do." Rhea replied with a simper.

"First, it's not magic. Second, I don't know everything contrary to popular belief." I said with a boop to Rhea's black, wet nose.

"Hey, don't boop my nose without permission." She hissed playfully.

"Yeah, sure. Just tell me how to pronounce your name."

"Okay, Yuh' ready? Lie-cal-o-pex Cul-pay-es.

"Lie-cal-o-pay-ex?" I said with uncertainty.

"You can't be serious."

"What? Some things come easier than others." I said in defense.

"Ugh, just call me a Cul-pee-o Fox."

"Why didn't you just say that the first time?"

"Because I'm an entitled Vixen." She said with a silly smile.

"Uh-huh." I said with a doubtful eyebrow raised. "I think I'll just stick with Lycalopex Culpaeus."

"YOU COULD PRONOUNCE IT!" She squawked with faux annoyance.

"Of course I could. I can say pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis without issue, so something as plain as Lycalopex Culpaeus isn't much of a problem." I said while straightening my posture.

Rhea seemed to be in complete thought, going far enough to start compartmentalizing parts of the air with her paws. I thought it amusing to see her in total concentration with the word I uttered so easily. "New-mno-ultra-micro-scopics-silly-coe-volcano-cone-ee-o-sis…. Did I do it right?" Rhea asked as she looked directly into my rainbow eyes with hope.

"Uhh… You actually got it... I'm quite impressed, and for that I shall grant you one small request… And I'll carry that archaic armor." I said while expertly assembling the strewn about plate carrier, slinging it over a should once it was put together.

"A request?" She asked after matching my pace down the tree covered dirt path.

"Request: An act of asking for something in a polite or respectful manner."

"I know what request means." She snipped with indignance. "I want you to carry me on your shoulders. I grow weak." She said with a devious grin.

"You got it." I said while taking a knee for the dyed fox to clamber atop my partially occupied shoulders.

"No, no, no. I want you to pick me up with that Psychokinetic thingy you have."

"* _Sigh*_ By your command." I deadpanned as I stood up. After a few second of deliberation on how to position the fox atop my shoulders, I decided on the method. "You need to put this back on so both my shoulders are free. You'll just sit with my head between your legs." I stated matter-of-factly.

The immediate response was a choke followed by a giggle. "You want to take me on a few dates first?"

"Huh?… Ohh, you know what I meant." I replied moments before raising the Operative onto my shoulders, where she began to use my head for balance as I walked.

"That was disappointing, I thought there was going to be some kind of ritual thing." Rhea said with dissapointment.

"It's not like my enemies are just going to wait for my powers to _warm up_. Speaking of which, have you ever heard of an artifact called the Obelisk?"

"Umm, actually, yeah. I was sent on a mission and some local tribe claimed they were protected by it."

"You're kidding, right?" I asked with astonishment. "I don't have to start scouring the entire planet?"

"… Oh, you were serious." She said with regret.

"Aww, and you had my hopes up… For shame Rhea, for shame." I said with faux disappointment while shaking my head. "Hey, it really is here." I said while quickening my pace towards the piano just outside the park boundaries. I still made sure my gate was very stable for Rhea's sake, although once I reached the black instrument, I knelt for the fox to remove herself.

"Do you play?" She asked while flipping up the key cover.

"I-uhh… No, not really. I can sorta play a few basic songs." I said sheepishly.

" _Ha-ha, you little shit. You can't play the piano, and I can."_ The voice in my head mocked.

"Shut up." I hissed at a whisper.

" _Make me."_

"I'll kill her if you don't." I whispered while making a threatening sphere of dark energy.

"Elliot, what's wrong? Do you see something?" Rhea asked while raising her rife to the low ready position as she started scanning the terrain.

"I'm not sure yet. _What's it going to be, Elliot?"_ I asked.

"… _Fine."_ The voice replied with dejection.

"False alarm." I said after absorbing the lightless energy into my gloved hands. "Anyway, we really should continue our journey to the hospital."

"Why?"

"I still need to talk with a Nicholas Wilde, and since you're my bodyguard, I can't just open a matter tunnel to take me there."

"A what?" Rhea asked while we walked through the park to reach Savannah Central medical.

"Teleportation stuff."

"Ahh, okay."

We walked for awhile in silence, simply observing the surroundings and their unique aspects. Rhea eventually started asking me about The Messenger and how it was able to stay in the air without any visible vectored thrusters; I of course had to deny all the questions due to the Raxxlan accord just put into effect. Once she gave up trying with the ship, questions started flying around about my powers and how they worked.

"I honestly don't fully understand most of them, but I know it's not magic; Just science so close to magic, what's the difference?" I answered while looking down at the fluffy white fox.

"Okay, well what can you do?"

"Besides manipulating objects with my mind. Those little balls of energy I create are made of a substance called Dark Energy, which is believed to be responsible for the acceleration of the expansion of the universe, It's a mouth full, right?"

"Ehh." She replied in a tone that said 'N _ot really, but I don't want to argue.'_

"Anyway, besides that, I can emit focused Gamma radiation from my body, heal things almost instantaneously through a process known as A.C.R."

"What's it stand for?"

"Advanced Cellular regeneration… Oh, I can also Manipulate someone's mind to create a hallucination of myself, like this." I said just before Creating another version of myself in front of Rhea, which caused her to rapidly look from me to the hallucination. "Because I can use my mind to move things, and I can remotely view things, I seem like I'm right in front of you, going as far as interacting with the person." I said just before booping the Fox's nose with my Psychokinetic interactive doppelganger.

"This is super creepy." She replied while touching my doppelganger and feeling resistance to it's skin.

"Yes, yes it is." I said once I disbanded the doppelganger.

By the time we reached the Savannah Central Medical Center, more and more of the civilian populace were out and about. They no longer seemed in fear for their lives when I walked past, which I attributed to the possibility of the camera crews broadcasting the whole Peace treaty earlier today. When we reached the entrance of the hospital, I found the same deer at the front reception desk, however she seemed far less intimidated this time around.

"Y-You're back."

"It seems that way, doesn't it. I need the room for the Fox I checked in earlier, Nicholas Wilde." I said with a kind smile.

"Officer Wilde is currently in the trauma recovery ward. If you could sit, I'll have a nurse take you there." She replied while gesturing to the waiting area with a hoof hand thing; At first glance, I had no idea what to call the unholy hybrid of a hoof and a three fingered hand.

"Can't I just go to him, I can see him laying in the bed right now." I said while pointing to my rainbow eyes, which had nothing to do with the remote viewing, but got the point across.

"You're going to go anyway, aren't you?" She asked, already know the answer deep down.

"Yep." I replied as I walked towards the restricted door. Rhea kept close behind me with her rifle at a rested position, although she was still scanning everyone we passed. The linoleum floors caused a tap with each step, earning the stares of many; I don't think the blue illuminated Compression Armor Zoifa granted me helped the incognito department either.

 **Knock knock knock**

"Come in." Nick replied from the other side of the door. When I walked in, his back was turned to me and he was looking out the window from his bedside.

"How's your head doing?" I asked.

When Nick looked towards me, his face was one of dejection once I was recognized by his emerald eyes. "You… You didn't leave."

"… Oh... I'm sorry I came to say hi." I said quietly while turning for the door. "If you didn't know by now, Judy's fine."

"Wait, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just thinking about something." He said while attempting to catch me before I opened the door.

"It's fine, Nick. You don't want the Human responsible for all _this_ being in your company." I replied before turning around to leave. Just as I reached the threshold, a pair of arms wrapped around my stomach.

"Don't go. I really need a friend right now." He said with a delicate voice as I turned around.

"You consider me a friend?" I asked doubtfully while looking into his eyes for an answer.

"After all those conversations when you were on the transition world, I want you at my wedding." He said with a small laugh that turned into quiet sniffles of sadness.

"Rhea, would you give us-"

"Yeah." She answered quietly while excusing herself from the room.

Once Rhea closed the door, I scooped Nick into my arms and sat him down on the bed, slowly petting his head while I spoke. "What's wrong Afráta Alepoú?" I cooed.

"I-I don't have anyone in my life. It sounds dumb, I know."

"Nonsense. Everyone needs to love and be loved by someone, mmmkay? _I can't believe I'm about to ask this._ So, do you like someone?"

"What are we, five?" He asked with a small chuckle.

"Hey, you're the one who started crying." I replied after ceasing my gentle head pets. "Let me rephrase my last; Who do you want to do nasty things in the night with?"

"Oh, that really helps." Nick replied with a smack to my stomach. "Ow, the crap is that suit made out of?" He added while rubbing the paw used to smack me.

"I imagine it's similar to my G-suit, but more protective."

"Speaking of that-"

"No, no, no, we're not getting off topic Afráta Alepoú."

"What does that even mean?" Nick demanded.

"Do I tell him, or do I keep it a secret for all that suspense?"

" _Tell meeeeee."_ Nick demanded while shaking my shoulders the best he could.

"Okay, okay my Fluffy Fox." I answered.

"So!?" Nick squawked, no longer in his sorrowful mood.

"I just did stupid. It means Fluffy fox. You are my Afráta Alepoú." I said with a boop to his blank face.

"So all those times you called me that, and I thought it meant something super deep."

"Yep, it literally means what you are."

"… Now I wish you hadn't told me." He mumbled with flattened ears.

"Just don't tell anyone else, and call every other Fox you see an Afráta Alepoú, they can be just as mystified as you."

"It's not the same."

"Oh, you." I said while pulling Nick into a hug. "I'm sure you'll survive, but if you think your wounds to be mortal, I could just erase your memory."

"No-no, we're not going down that road again, mister eggs and bacon."

"We need to get back on topic with who you like." I said with concern Nick would bring up the whole eggs and bacon thing again.

"But now it's all embarrassing." Nick said with partially splayed ears.

"That just means you really like her, now who's the Vixen?"

"Well… She's not a Fox per-say."

"Ooohh, gettin' freaky." I said with a simper.

"Quit it, Elliot."

"Okay, okay. All serious now."

"I-I think I like Judy."

"… Nick, I'm just going to say this for your own good. Do _not_ fall in love with someone who's about to get married, that's how you end up with a baseball bat to the face."

"Married? Judy's not getting married." Nick replied with a tilted head and one flattened ear.

"Dude, I talked to her Fiance."

"… You got hardcore trolled." Nick said with a growing smirk.

"He had a ring on his finger."

"Lemme guess. Really tall rabbit, you probably thought he was a jackrabbit. Tan fur, brown eyes?" Nick asked, all too knowingly about the rabbit. My response was one of total detestation, which only egged Nick on further. "Oh, man! He really did get you! I never thought the day would come anything could outsmart the great _Admiral_." He chirped happily.

"Who got you?" Someone asked as the door opened, revealing a fully restored Gray rabbit. "Elliot… You're still here!?" Judy squawked with dismay.

"Why would I have left? It hasn't even been a day since I arrived." I asked just as Judy's _fiance_ walked into the room, immediately staring me down with intrigue. "Speak of the Rabbit himself. Russell Nails Hopps, you lied to me, didn't you?" I asked assertively while slowly standing and edging toward the now cowering Rabbit.

"M-m-maybe." He replied timidly with drooped ears, which prompted me to activate my bioluminescence to its full potential brightness; This actually caused the surrounding area to illuminate in several colors, although most of the rainbow blended into a monotone color. Nevertheless, my eyes almost looked like two cheap flashlights attempting to illuminate the area. "Pleasedonthurtme!" He squealed in fear once I was inches away from the Rabbit backed into a corner.

"Ha...haha...hahahahahaha-ahhhh, I got youuuu." I said as I diffused the reaction, knelt to the cowering rabbit, and poked his ribs lightly with a finger. It took a solid ten seconds before his brain must've realized what I said, but when he did come out of the fear induced _coma_ , I was met with a puddley set of eyes looking at me.

"Y-you really scared me." He said meekly while rubbing a tear from his eyes.

"That's what you get for telling me you're getting married to the esteemed Judy Hopps, destroyer of drug rings."

"RUSSELL!" Judy shouted, promptly slugging her sibling in the shoulder. "I can't believe you would lie to him." She said with disbelief.

"What? Mom and dad were all freaking out, and I don't know who he is. Next thing I know, he's asking me about marrying you, and I-I was just so scared and-"

"HEY!" Judy interrupted. "Just don't do it again… at least to Elliot. _He tends to be cranky at times."_ Judy said at a whisper.

"Very original, Judy." I said with a dismissal wave as I returned to Nick's hospital bed. I still wanted to continue our conversation about his affection for the Rabbit, but now it seemed very unlikely under normal circumstances. " _Yo Afráta Alepoú."_ I said directly into Nick mind, which caused him to give me a knowing smile.

" _Yeah."_ He replied, not that Nick was talking back into my head per say, it was me simply reading his conscious thoughts.

" _Now that you know for sure, ask her out."_ I thought into his mind while nodding my head towards Judy, who was in deep explanation of who I am.

" _Don't you mean, now that YOU know. I already knew she was single. And no, I'm not about to go ask Judy on a date in the middle of a hospital."_

" _Why not? Let's recall the past shall we. Six, or maybe seven months ago, my drones wiped the floor with the ZPD, and you two ended up riding on my Martha's back to your SHARED apartment. Is that still a thing by the way?"_

" _Yes, we're still living together, and I clearly remember your airplane magic drones practically forcing us into admittance that we accidentally slept together."_

"YOU WHAT!?" I blurted, completely unable to withhold the humor bursting from my sour. I ended up falling off the bed in a fit of laughter, Nick looking at me with his ears flattened and a displeased glare while Judy and Russell looked at me quizzically.

"Elliot? Are you alright?" Judy questioned once my laughing subsided.

"No, I'm absolutely fantastic. I had no Idea you two slept together the first time I was here." I chirped mirthfully.

"Huh?" Judy replied.

"Just a sec, lemme grab your memories." I said just before resting my palm in between Judy's upright ears. As fast as greased lightning, I had all the information regarding that night. "April third to fourth, two-thousand-sixteen. It was just after your dad shot me in the gut, you two decided to share the bed at a motel, and…. Aww, you actually _slept_ together." I said with disappointment while looking at Nick, who had completely red ears and a small amount of red showing under his cream colored muzzle. Meanwhile, Judy still seemed clueless as to what I was referring.

"I'm just going to ignore what happened." Judy said with uncertainty as she removed my hand from her head. "Now, Elliot. Don't change the topic this time. Why didn't you leave?" Judy asked with her tiny rabbit paws on her waist.

" leave to where?" I asked once I sat upright, putting me a few inches above Judy's head.

Before she replied, all joking and humor left her fluffy face, her ears laid against her back, and she started fidgeting with her paws while inching closer to me. "Ya-know, on your ship." She said quietly, which caused all noise in the room to instantly vanish.

 **(** **Enya - Only Time)**

My reply contained a nervous chuckle. "What are you talking about, we aren't leaving for another three days."

"… Elliot, they already left… you're ship's gone." Judy said gently while caressing my cheek with a paw.

"no." I whispered inaudibly just before shooting to my feet, darting from the patient room. I only made it about three feet before both Rhea and Judy called my name in an attempt to stop me. Nevertheless, I searched out the stairwell and started climbing at a desperate pace. Just at the top of the first floor climbed, Rhea Shouted from inside the Echoing stairwell.

"ELLIOT, WAIT!"

By the fifteenth flight of stairs, the three sets of footsteps attempting to keep pace with me were trailing further and further behind; Meanwhile, I was only getting warmed up due to my newly restored genetic enhancements. With one giant shove, the roof door flung open, smacking the wall outside. My first step was one of recoil from the combination of wind and sunlight, although once I adjusted to the environment, I made for a mad dash to the southeast wall (Coast side) leaping onto the safety barrier made of concrete.

* * *

-=Rhea Lula Pov=-

" _Stupid state guard equipment. If it weren't for the twenty pounds of crap on me, I would've caught up with him by now."_ I internally squabbled while charging up the stairs after Elliot. The other two had long since passed me, which only added to my frustration of all the equipment I was forced to wear on my latest assignment. Every so often I would look how far it was to the top, and I swore I was catching up to the other two after a while.

"Quit Lollygagging and get your tails into gear!" I yelled at the exhausted Fox and Rabbit moving at a snail's pace; Apparently they didn't teach moderating physical exertion in their police training. Somehow, I was the first one to make it to the top, despite having nearly a third of my weight packed on in armor, weapons and ammo. When I pushed open the door to the roof, I had to shield my eyes from the bright sunlight.

" _Glasses, glasses-glasses-glasses"_ I thought while pulling the specifically designed sunglasses out of a pouch. Once I donned them, my vision was no longer aching from the light. Elliot was standing on the very edge of the building as he stared off the coast where his ship was supposed to be. My first thought was he was getting ready to jump, and with that in mind, I instinctively removed my weapons and armor with deftness.

"Heyyyy. How's it going?" _How's it going? Are you serious, why not just say blueberries are blue._

Elliot stood silently for what seemed like an eternity as his body wavered in the wind every now and then. I didn't notice it at first, but I eventually picked up on small convulsions to his body. Just as I was going to say something, he slowly turned around with tear soaked cheeks, and red eyes. "They're all gone. Judith, Zofia. . . they all left me here." Elliot whimpered just before his suit of fancy armor started dissolving into dust, leaving his fur-less body exposed, par for underwear.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

" _You son of a bitch... Give. Me. What. Is. Rightfully. MINE!"_ The voice in my head yelled as if under immense stress. Just like that, all the control I had over my body left, and I went limp.

"NOOO!" Judy screamed as I felt my body collapsing off the edge.

" _Are you happy now, Elliot?"_ I asked the voice.

" _I can't let you do what Zofia wanted, even at the cost of our lives."_ The voice replied as I felt the wind on my face pick up, faster and faster with each second.

" _She can just reanimate this body, and I'll be in control once again."_

" _Really now, how's Zoifa supposed to fix us when she's nowhere to be seen. Even with your eight-hundred years more experience, you fail to see this Zoifa isn't the same as yours."_

" _I served under her command for a thousand years, you served for what, a hundred days? You could never understand my loyalty to her."_

" _That doesn't change the truth of her plan… I KNOW you can see exactly what she'll do with the Obelisk."_ The voice replied matter of factly.

I let out an internal scoff before replying. " _You don't even know what the Obelisk is, what it does, or how it works."_

" _You don't think you can just invade my memories without me doing the same, do you?...It created the Galaxy."_ The voice said just as I impacted the pavement below, sending the world into darkness.

* * *

 **A/N: I'll be honest here, that whole reveal (If you figured it out) was supposed to be way later in the story, but I'm really trying to get to a certain point in the plot line; Jacqueline and Elliot befriending each other again, but all these other _things_ are getting in the way.**

 **A review would be a great moral booster, so plz review. I'm actually thinking about ending the story short in favor for another idea, also because this has _maybe_ a fifth the popularity of my prequel; I sorta want to attempt an engineered story to gain popularity based on what else is highly popular as an experiment.**

 **This would be a romance story between Nick and Judy with a hybrid child of some kind. Not kidding, this is what comes up as the most popular. I personally would't find this idea all that interesting, So I'd modify it slightly. this would be a rough draft of the summary.**

 **Follow the story of Violet Wilde as she tries to make it in the world as a hybrid without many friends. Just a few days after a meteor strikes off the coast, a seemingly mute, nameless wolf starts attending her class, saving her from a bully.**

 **Keep in mind this would be far more refined, but I think it gets the idea across. Lemme know what you think about the idea... I'll probably do it anyway :)**


	12. Chapter 12: Means To An End

_Chapter Twelve:_ Means to an End

 _The real evil is the power to kill people. Someone who finds himself with that power is cursed. No matter how you use it, anything obtained by killing people can never bring true happiness._

* * *

-=Rhea Lula Pov=-

I really thought I would be able to catch him. I thought I was plenty close enough to pull Elliot from the death of gravity. I was right about the distance to be fair; I just kinda forgot how much he weighed.

If one word could be used to describe my emotions, it would have to be desolation. Why I felt this way over an alien I met today, I haven't the slightest clue. I've killed countless Mammals in my endeavors to make the world a better place, yet this one _'_ _person'_ as he referred to himself, somehow broke down my walls in a matter of hours. My face was blank, my body language… blank. Everything was numb, and I wished I had done something differently. I wish I had stopped him in the hallway, shot him in the stairwell, _anything_ to reverse the current events… but no one can reverse time, no one can reset the day, fix their mistakes; That's just the world we live in.

If I only knew Elliot for a few hours, the fox and rabbit would be much worse off. Upon turning around at a snail's pace, Judy was on her knees weeping, and… Nick, I think that was his name, was silently crying as he held the smaller rabbit... I wish I was crying, anything to end the darkness in my mind. It was like the whole world shut off, the sound went away, warmth of the sun vanished, complete desolation.

" _Maybe he survived, he does have that armor… suit."_ I thought, quickly realizing all his glowing armor turned to dust seconds before he toppled over the edge. Regardless, I needed to check, just in case. My mind started commanding my body to run as fast as possible, like I had been reinvigorated with the energy of twenty Snarlbucks; My body, however, decided on a stumbling shuffle across the graveled pavement, down the steel stairs, one step at a time. I didn't even process there being an elevator just one flight down.

By the time I arrived, the area was cordoned off by police tape, and his body was gone. I saw the flashing of police lights, but heard no sirens or police chatter as they held back the growing crowd of civilians. That didn't stop me from walking straight for the police tape at my deathly pace.

"Hold up GI Joey." A wolf officer said while stopping me.

"YIA operative Rhea Lula." I mumbled as I extended my trembling arm, which was scanned by the officer.

"My apologies, Ma'am. Poor bastard." The wolf said while nodding his head at the blood stain.

"His _*Sniff*_ His name was Elliot." I mumbled as my brain started to process the gravity of what happened.

" _Aww shit._ " The wolf whispered to himself. "Sorry, I-I didn't know you knew him. I don't recommend you go and see Elliot, it's pretty gruesome... The doctors don't think he'll make it more than an hour."

"He… he's alive?"

"Yes, Ma'am." The wolf replied.

In that moment, all the blank, numb, desolation gave way to focus, pure, uninterrupted focus. Elliot's species was advanced, maybe they could heal him with whatever technology they have. The only problem was everyone left already… "NICK AND JUDY!" I shouted just before sprinting off in the direction of the elevator. Surely they would know something about Elliot if they knew him for awhile. Sure enough, when I pushed open the door to the roof, Judy was still sniffling and Nick was holding her.

"Guy's, Elliot's still alive!" I shouted the moment I laid eyes on them.

"W-what?" Nick mumbled with splayed ears.

"Listen, I need you two to focus. Does Elliot have something that can bring him back from deaths door?"

"Ye-yes. He-he had this thing in the hospital that could've healed a fractured spine. But the humans are gone, an-and no _*sniff*_ no one's here to save him." He said as more tears started rolling forward.

"What about someone else? Did he know anyone that could have it!?" I asked, more and more panicky as my sentence want on. Nick seemed to be in great deliberation as he wiped the tears off his fur. Clearly he knew of someone that could possibly have this magic healing stuff.

"That nurse. Judy, remember that nurse that left with Elliot? I remember him talking to me about it, they were really close at the time."

"Yeah, I don't remember her name though." Judy said through her waning tears.

"Species, anything to go on… COME ON you two. Elliot could be saved, and you're just sitting like a couple of kits."

"Her name is Jacqueline Ferguson. Snow leopard." Nick said with a hoarse voice.

"Okay. Go get a radio, and put a BOLO out. The doctor said Elliot only has an hour."

* * *

-=45 minutes later=-

In the time we spent scouring the city, there were several sightings of a Snow leopard wearing a strange camouflage backpack, although all attempts to close in on her were unfruitful. Elliot's condition was only getting worse as the clock ticked down to zero. He had been in surgery the entire time, however the doctors were almost certain he wouldn't make it. We decided to just go back to the hospital and say our goodbyes while we had the chance.

"How could she be so had to catch!?" Nick shouted with frustration.

"Do you think Elliot taught her?" Judy asked with a glance to the fox.

"No, he specifically told me he wasn't going to teach Jacqueline how to fight." He replied.

"Jacqueline… HOW COULD I BE SO STUPID!" I yelled while pulling out my cellphone.

"What!? What is it?" Nick asked frantically.

"I'M JACQUELINE'S DAMN ROOM MATE!" I said while pressing the call button. "Come on. Pick up, pick up, pick up."

"Before you say anything, I wasn't kidnapped or anything. I chose-" Jacqueline started to say.

"SHUT UP!" I squawked.

"Whoa, what's got you're fur ruffled?"

"Elliot's about to die. Do you have anything that can save him!?"

"WHAT! HOW?" Jacqueline shrieked with dismay.

"I'll explain later. DO. YOU-"

"Yes, yes, I have an R.S.K in his wingsuit, but I can't just walk in the open; I'm being followed by the police." She said in a whisper.

" _*Sigh*_ Jacqueline, I'm looking for you _with_ the police."

"Wow, isn't this one big screw up." Jacqueline replied. "What hospital is he at, I'll meet you there."

"Savannah central." I replied, which prompted Jacqueline to hang up. Not fifteen seconds later, a winged individual flew overhead at breakneck speeds.

"Are you sure Elliot didn't teach her stuff?" Judy asked while looking at the proverbial rocket.

"Guess he changed his mind?" Nick said with uncertainty. "Attention all units, Jacqueline Ferguson has been found, call off the search." He added into the dash mounted CB radio.

By the time we made it to the hospital, our hour estimate was well passed, and despite the staff attempting to restrain us, one flick of the safety on my rife caused them to back off. When we opened the doors to the operating room, Jacqueline was injecting something into his neck that resembled black tar. I've seen some pretty nasty stuff in the field, that's probably why I was the only one besides Jacqueline not gagging at the sight of Elliot. The heart rate monitor across the room was slowly beeping at twenty five beats per minute.

"That-that can't be normal?" I said while looking at the green, screen."

"His heart rate is normally forty BPM. This is an expected drop." Jacqueline said with certainty. "You shouldn't be in here, you're not sterilized." She added while pulling out the empty syringe out of his neck. I hadn't noticed it before, but since Jacqueline mentioned it, I noticed she was wearing a surgical mask and gloves.

"I'll go, just answer me this; I know you two were close, and Elliot ended up breaking your nose because you were _assaulting_ him. Are you two okay?"

"First, I wasn't really myself at the time." She started to say while placing the empty syringe back into a compartment on the back of what must've been Elliot's wingsuit. "I still can't believe he didn't smell that I was in heat. Second, He did at least sent me an Rsk for my nose, so I was better by the end of the day."

"That didn't answer the question, Jacqueline." I said with my paws crossed.

Before Jacqueline answered, she started looking at her hind paws while flattening her ears. " _*Sigh*_ I dunno." She mumbled. "I'd like for us to be okay, but Miss Crawford said Elliot told her he doesn't love me anymore."

"Oh, yeah… I forgot about that." I replied just before the heart monitor started slowing.

"Uhh, why'd he just drop to seventeen beats per minute?" I asked while pointing to the monitor.

"Crap. I forgot the blood thinner portion of the R.S.K." Jacqueline said as she darted to the intercom. "Code blue in operating room five."

Not five seconds later, blood soaked doctors of varying species barged through the door, presumably the same ones I just kicked out a few minutes ago. They began talking so fast, and doing things so skillfully I hadn't a chance to keep up. The only thing I was paying real attention to was the heart monitor ticking Elliot's slowing heart rate. I could feel my body going numb once again, and my hearing soon followed it, par for one sound… A flatline on the monitor. There was nothing I could do, I was completely useless when it came to an injury of this magnitude. With that abstract thought, I started shuffling out of the operating room to where Nick and Judy were sitting; The face I was making told the whole story, and sure enough, when I rounded the white linoleum floored hallway, Judy almost immediately started crying again, whereas Nick donned the same bleak expression I had.

"E- _*Choke*_ Elliot just flatlined." I mumbled while plopping myself into a plastic chair butted up to the wall. Most of the other Mammals sitting in the same hallway were staring at the three of us with forlorn eyes. I sat in complete motionless silence for hours, not thinking about if I had done something different, just the same blank, thoughtless regret. The first time I looked outside a nearby window, it was afternoon, the second time I looked outside, which I was sure to only be a few minutes later, It was pitch night, and the street lights were all illuminating the city. It seemed as If the world didn't give a single fuck that one of the most powerful creatures (In Elliot's words) just passed away from something as stupid as gravity.

"Rhea." Jacqueline cooed while bumping her shoulder into mine. "Elliot just got out of surgery, we were able to stem the bleeding long enough for the Recovery Stimulation Kit to fix the majority of his internal organ damage. There's still going to be a long recovery from what Doctor Canis told me. I'm working on him being transferred to Tundra town medical cuz' that's where my insurance covers… You want to see him?" Jacqueline asked as my brain was still processing her words.

"I… He's going to live?"

"That's what I just said, Afráta Alepoú." Jacqueline answered in a friendly joking tone.

"What's that mean?"

"I'll never tell." She replied with a smirk.

Elliot looked much better than the blob of skin and broken bones the first time around. His body still had massive bruising all over it, and he was in a medically induced coma due to the head trauma induced from the fall. All of his broken bones were mended and his organs repaired thanks to the R.S.K thingy; Jacqueline explained the second version, which was the one she injected used a Nanite controlled solution that would target the more fatal wounds first; I still had a hard time fully grasping the virus sized robots part, but regardless if I understood it or not, he was going to live. Nick and Judy left hours ago, and I really should've too because I needed to give my synopsis of being assigned to the YSG (Yepreutan State Guard) first thing in the morning.

When I checked my phone for the time, I realized how blank my mind really was. ' _0543'_ I had been sitting in that chair all night, and I didn't even know it. Jacqueline offered to walk to the YIA office downtown, but I turned it down considering how exhausted she looked. I even offered to walk home with her just in case, but once she showed me the weapons on Elliot's wingsuit, I realized she was ready for a war.

"See-ya this afternoon, Jackie." I said with a sleepy wave as we parted ways.

"Yep." She replied while walking the other direction.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

"I still can't believe you made us fall off that building." I said to my mind. I could tell from the collective experience we shared this was indeed a coma, which would explain the lack of a body.

"I still can't believe we survived." Elliot replied in surprise. "No matter, I'll find a way to kick you out of my body, or kill us both."

"Yeah right." I said with a scoff.

"Would you like to know something about myself Elliot zero-zero-six-five?" Elliot asked.

"I already know everything about you, but please, Indulge me." I replied.

"I've severed all ties with those I loved or cared for in the time you've been in control."

"Your point?" I said with a yawn.

"You still have people you care about and love. I still have people powerful enough to kill those you love."

" _Ha-ha-ha-haaaaa_. You think I'd fall for something that juvenile? Zofia told me about everyone that could pose a threat."

"Suit yourself… I guess Nick will know where you are after Barry Allen thrusts an arm through his heart." Elliot said in an eerily calm voice. "Oh, I did get to speak with him while I was in your universe. He really does love you."

"Stop. _Talking."_ I replied in an odious tone.

"I even gave him a kiss goodbye." Elliot said with a smile growing on his face. "If you think I can't reach your loved ones, you are sorely mistaken. While I still have Judith and Jacqueline, I can live with their deaths if it means saving the multiverse."

"SHUT UP!" I screamed.

"Oh, do make me Elliot zero-zero-six-five, do make me." Elliot mocked. "I might not be at the level of Zofia, But I'll do whatever it takes to win. Oh, and now that I think about it. Do you really think She'll just stop at my Universe? How many will have to be under her rule before she's satisfied? A-hundred, five-hundred, A-thousand? How many Universes Guardians and Scouts will have to be slaughtered before she returns you to your own body, if ever mind you?"

"She would never do that." I snipped in response.

"OH, GROW UP, SHIT STICKS! My Zofia's a piece of mentally unstable power, not the peaceful, motherly Scout she's supposed to be. I know your people aren't as advanced as mine, pretty close but not quite. So let me ask you this; At what point does one's power become so great that it consumes them with authoritarian thoughts when in the presence of say, the Lunovians?"

"… I-I don't know."

"Bull _shit_ , you know exactly where this is going, and I'm sure you've dealt with the very same thoughts." Elliot said in annoyance.

"FINE!… Okay, I was wrong, and selfish." I said with dejection. "I just want to go love my mate, and Zofia said she would grant me that if I helped her gain access to the Obelisk."

"So you would damn everyone else forever to gain a measly fifty or sixty years with one Fox?" Elliot asked with a pissed voice.

"I get it, okay! I screwed up."

"No, I don't think you do get it. I've lost people, everyone looses people they care about, that's just life. You died, and I didn't, that's all there is to it. You were supposed to stay in the containment thing, and be recycled in a thousand years. But, NOOOOO, you just had to go and take my body."

"You can stop now, You're starting to loose my attention." I replied.

"I'm almost done. First, You're going to give me the controls. Second, you're going to tell me everything there is to know about my powers. I know I've discovered the majority, but I can feel things are still locked within."

"Yeah… you got it." I said with sadness.

"Listen, once this is all over, I can load you into a nanite slurry."

"I've tried that before, it doesn't work." I replied.

" _You've_ tried it, I haven't." Elliot replied. "Now cough up the controls."

"Not yet, and It's not like you can do anything anyway." I replied.

"The moment we wake up, I'm taking my body back whether you like it or not."

"I'll give it to you, but just answer me this. Do you really have that Galactic Tracker sent to kill my Nick?"

"Yes, although he has to go through each and every dimension to get there, so give or take sixty five tries."

"I agreed to give your body back, call him off." I replied with anxiety.

"I'll call Barry off once I have my body back, simple as that."

* * *

-=Jacqueline pov=-

The moment I clicked the deadbolt to my shared apartment, my body went into sleep mode, and I found it hard to keep my eyes open. I didn't even bother to take off Elliot's wingsuit when I collapsed on the couch; It had been awhile since I was forced to pull an all-nighter, and boy was it a rude awakening. Just as I felt myself starting to drift into dreamland, a semi-familiar click sounded from the other side of the couch.

"I don't know how you got in here, but you best leave before you end up with acute lead poisoning." A familiar, female voice said in a threatening tone.

"Kate, I will _kill_ you if you don't let me sleep." I mumbled into the pillow.

"Ja-Jacqueline?… Oh my God, you're not dead." Kate awed while de-cocking the hammer on her pistol.

" _Noo_." I replied sarcastically. "Since when do you have a gun?"

"Ever since that Human broke in and threatened me with giant arm swords. How did you even escape!?"

"Nooooo-ho-ho…. Tomorrow… Sleep." I whined while burying my muzzle further into the pillow.

"You explain everything first thing tomorrow." Kate demanded just before padding down the lightless hallway to her room.

Explaining my _adventure_ to Elliot's home world was very close to the bottom of things I wanted to do with the normally down-to-earth Cheetah. I mean, yeah, I'd want to talk all about the buildings that towered higher than the eye could see, I'd want to show her the technology Humans developed, just not after I went thirty-six hours without sleep.

When night fell, I was more than unhappy to find Kate nudging my shoulder just before the sun was completely gone. "It's night, now explain how you got abducted." Kate ordered while shoving coffee in front of my face.

"I'm almost twenty-eight, Kate. I don't need you waking me up like a kit on Christmas morning." I grumbled while sipping on the black liquid.

"First, we have the night shift. You owe me big for keeping your job by the way." Kate said while smacking me in the face with her spotted tail.

"Thanks, but I really need to call in sick; I'm still all jet-lagged to The Messenger's time." I said while drinking more of the coffee as I started unfastening Elliot's wingsuit straps.

"What's the Messenger?" Kate asked with intrigue while slipping on her shirt.

"It's called THE Messenger, and it's that giant ship that covered the whole city yesterday; Elliot owns it."

"Who?"

"The human you met at the hospital, he was shot by a musket, had his spine shattered."

"Ohhhh… Did you ever kiss him?" She asked while raising and lowering her eyebrows.

"Yes Miss fifth grade, I kissed him… more than once." I answered while my muzzle started forming a smile.

"But serious talk. You weren't abducted by him? And where did you go? And did you get to fly a ship?"

"No, I wasn't abducted. Just after Elliot went into a coma on one of the Empires Majestic interdictors, they gave me an option to go home. I ended up going to Elliot's home world, they call it Earth."

"Aww, that sounds way more mysterious than Daurilia." Kate moped in response due to the Humans better name for their planet.

"Elliot has his own name for everyone's planets for some reason; I never really got around to asking him why."

"Well, what are they?"

"Ours is Raxxla, Earth has several names, Sol, Terra, and… well, Earth. There's also the People of Lunov, and Miacke. The Humans just won a war against the Thargoids. I think they did anyway."

"OOH. What to the Lunov Mammals look like. NO! What do the teriyaki Mammals look like?" Kate demanded with enthusiasm.

" _Nooooo_ … If you want to know, go ask Elliot when he comes out of his coma." I whined while pulling on my ears. Just as Kate resumed her assault of questions, the deadbolt unlocked and Rhea walked in, looking far more exhausted than me. She didn't even make it to the couch just ten feet away from the door, simply falling down and curling into a ball on the brown carpet.

"Was work that bad?" Kate inquired after she hoisted the much smaller fox into her arms. She began to carry the dyed fox off to her room down the hall, and that gave me just enough time to slip on the compression suit Sam made me.

"Dang, she was asleep before I even put… The crap is that!?" Kate Squawked while feeling the taut, green armor covering my entire body save for my paws and head.

"It was a gift. It's this really cool fabric; Go ahead, punch me." I said in a taunting tone as I crossed my arms.

"I'm not going to punch you."

"Come on. You know you want to." I said just before Kate punched me in the stomach.

"AHH! The hell is it made of!?" She shrieked while clutching her right paw in agony.

"A partially Non-newtonian armor." I replied with a smug smile; Sam Decided to give me my own armor suit, which even included a tail covering. It wasn't nearly as protective as Elliot's G-suit, but it could still stop a bunch of different guns. I didn't really know _exactly_ what Sam meant when she said M.M.G, but it could stop up to whatever that was.

"Well, warn me next time!" Kate hissed with splayed ears and partially bared fangs.

"Geez, how hard did you hit me?" I asked with arising worry for the condition of her paw.

"Hard enough for it to hurt." Kate answered while flicking her paw back and forth. She started putting on the rest of her clothing in her room while I decided on what I was going to have for breakfast, or in this case, dinner. Just as I decided on the food, The Cheetah returned wearing a blue sweatsuit. "Hey, we don't have time for that. It's almost Six, and If you forgot, we start at six." Kate said while dragging me out of our apartment.

The drive across the city was unceremonious, mostly consisting of me answering more questions about Elliot and his species. By the time we reached Tundra Town Medical, it was five-fifty, and we ended up getting dressed in out green nurses outfits just in the nick of time. "Jacqueline, how was the missions trip?" One of the doctors asked the moment I stepped outside the changing room.

"Oh… It was-uhh… Interesting." I said with a sheepish smile.

"Not really your thing, eyy. I can't really blame you for not liking the deep forest, I know I wouldn't like to be surrounded by Savage Mammals twenty-four-seven." The Antelope said with a nudge to my shoulder. "But then again, I know Kate was just covering for you going on a trip. A trip in your favorite rocket ship, perhaps shooting through the stars… care to tell me what it was like?" The Doctor asked with a hopeful expression.

"I don't know to what you're referring." I said with a purposefully terrible innocent expression.

"Aww, come on Jackie, tell us." Another one of the nurses teased.

"It's not going to happen." I replied.

"Well, since you don't know very much about the Human's, I suppose I'll just have to put someone else in charge of the Human _you_ checked in last night." The antelope said while nodding to one of the patient rooms.

"FINE, I went to their planet, and went faster than light speed, and all sorts of cool stuff!" I screeched in annoyance. At this point, half the staff on my floor were huddling around me as if I was the all knowing Snow Leopard

. It wasn't like there were tons of things to do at six in the afternoon; all the visitors were gone, and most of the patients were sleeping. the only thing left was cleaning and making sure no one died.

"That's all I needed to know. Now, I'm putting you in explicit charge of any Human patients that come through here until we can instate a full time Human doctor. _You_ will have the final authority when it comes to his well being." The antelope doctor stated, which actually caused my mouth to open just a hair.

"I'm going to be a temporary doctor?"

"That will of course include full pay. Personally, I would suggest you fill the position permanently since you already have an eight month head start… Go on now, I'm not paying you to stare at me."

* * *

-=12 hours later=-

That was the easiest first day back I've ever had; With just one patient to take care of, I spent most of my time talking with the other staff about What types of food Elliot can eat, his normal pulse rates, blood pressure, etcetera. Something I thought to be most peculiar during my physical write-up was that Elliot's retinas weren't the cool rainbow colors anymore, only the blue remained. Something else that was beyond abnormal was his had constantly grasping and releasing; It wasn't actually grabbing anything at all, simply opening and closing every few minutes.

By the time I got home, it was just starting to become light outside, and Rhea was stirring around the house, completely nude. "Would you put some clothes on?" I griped while shielding my eyes.

"I can't wear clothing for a few hours while this dye removal stuff is on. Besides, it's not the first time." Rhea replied casually as she cooked breakfast.

"Yeah Jacqueline, she has to wait for the dye removal stuff to work its magic." Kate teased while walking towards her room down the hall.

"Whatever." I replied while plopping myself on the couch to watch TV; Just as I found a good movie to watch, Rhea started talking from behind the couch.

"What kinda clothing is this?" She asked while feeling the Green, compression armor I was wearing.

"It was a gift from Elliot's mom." I replied.

"Whatever you do, don't punch it!" Kate shouted from her room.

"Why not?" Rhea replied as she manipulated the partially stretchy fabric with ease.

"Besides being _super_ comfortable, it's an armor that can stop and M.M.G, whatever that is."

"I find it hard to believe it would stop a three-o-eight." Rhea replied with doubt. "C'mon, stand up, I wanna test this so called _armor_." The pure white fox said while pulling on my arm.

"I really don't want to. Just punch me from here, and let me watch my movie." I said as Rhea started tugging on me harder.

"NEVERRRR!" She shouted.

* * *

-=Elliot U-7825 Pov=-

I was finally back in control of my own body. Elliot U-0065 was more than willing after I convinced him about Zofia's true motives to gaining control of the Obelisk. He explained to me that neither the Guardians, nor the Scouts could gain entrance to the Obelisk's main control station. The chances of me… us getting in weren't much better, although Zofia seemed absolutely positive we could harness its power. I was getting ready to hand the controls, so to speak, back to Elliot U-0065 so he could bring us out of the coma.

"As promised, Gene bearer Zero-zero-zero-one has been called off." I said.

"Thank you, and thank you for helping me overcome my selfishness." Elliot U-0065 replied.

"Are you seriously getting sappy on me?"

"What." Elliot whined. "Is it so bad that I said thanks for not letting me destroy the multiverse?"

"Terrible. Absolutely _despicable_." I joked in return.

Moments later, my eyes opened and I was met with the beeping of a heart rate monitor, and the dim light provided by the sun shining through the window to my left. To my right was the door to whatever hospital room I was laying in, and further to my immediate right was an arctic wolf looking at me quizzically.

"Nu cred că Tu ar trebui fie în sus." The male wolf said as he picked up a clipboard at the foot of the bed. "Da, tu ar trebui să fie în comă."

" _What's he saying?"_ I asked Elliot U-0065

" _You're not supposed to be awake."_ Elliot replied.

" _How do I say 'I need clothes'"_ I asked while glancing down at the hospital gown covering my body. Before Elliot answered, I began to pull out the IV lines and electric pickups for the heart monitor. "Am nevoie de apă, îmbrăcăminte, și un mijloc de a apela pe cineva." I said out of the blue, completely at a loss of control over my voice.

The wolf quickly nodded before darting out of the room.

" _There, you have about two minutes before he comes back. Now let's go."_ Elliot U-0065 said.

"I really don't appreciate you taking control of things like that." I chastened as I slunk to the closed oak door, cold tiles pressing on my bare feet as I went. "Control my subconscious for a second, how damaged is my body?" I asked while peeking out of the now cracked open door.

" _...Damn, Those R.S.K mark two's really pack a punch, We're completely fine."_ Elliot U-0065 replied.

"Good, cuz' we're going to need to run in a second." I whispered at the sight of an imposing Lion walking toward my room with the arctic wolf in tow.

" _I should take control, I still have the powers."_

"No. We're doing this the old fashion way." I said seconds before sprinting out of the room in the direction of an exit sign. The moment I left the room, the Lion shouted at me.

"Hey, Stop!"

This gained the attention of a few Yepreutan State guards talking at the end of the hall. The two gray wolves quickly ceased their small talk, and attempted to stop me. Both of them took half of the hallway in an attempt to halt my advance, however with all my built up speed and mass, the wolf on my left side didn't stand a chance against a drop kick to the plate carrier. Once I hit the ground, I performed a scissor sweep on the other wolf's legs, causing him to fall backwards.

" _Great start, Elliot. Assaulting state guards, evading capture, all in what? Two minutes of waking up?"_ Elliot U-0065 satirized while crossing his _spiritual_ arms.

"Shut up. It's not like making dark energy would've been any better." I said while slamming a stairwell door open. Just as I made it down the first flight, one of the YSG's slammed the same door open one flight up.

"STOP!. . . Aceasta este Delta Two-patru, pacientul uman care scapă în casa scării de vest, solicitarea de rezervă; Ținta este extrem de agresivă și extrem de periculos." The wolf yelled into a radio.

" _He just called backup, and said we were extremely dangerous."_ Elliot U-0065 relayed.

"Grand." I muttered just before pushing open the bottom floor door, which put me out into the freezing cold. "Shit!" I shrieked. I was standing out in a blizzard, the dead of night, and I was only wearing a hospital gown. I suppose the light coming in from the window was just light pollution.

"Any Idea's?" I asked at the sound of police sirens closing in.

" _First, start running, second, get some clothes from the nearest thrift shop… There's one just a few blocks away if your universe is anything like mine."_

In a matter of minutes, the bone chilling wind and snow almost brought us to a complete halt. There were no cars on the road, par for the Police cruisers, and every single shop was closed up. Every now and then, I would stop and let Elliot U-0065 warm up the pavement with a condensed Gamma radiation burst to keep us from freezing; The downside to this was the police quickly caught onto the lack of snow in certain areas being caused by us.

"Oprește, oprește în numele legii!" I heard a voice shout through a police cruiser megaphone.

"Shit." I whispered at the sight of the rapidly closing vehicle being piloted by a rabbit with black stripes on its cheeks. "I don't suppose you can share all that power with me?" I asked skeptically.

" _I never really contemplated it before, but I don't think so. Oh, I know, you could just think the thoughts and do the moves, and I'll generate the appropriate abilities."_

"Just don't read my mind wrong." I said just before whipping my body around and holding out both hands with my palms facing the cruiser. Besides the quarter second delay, Elliot nailed the power I wanted to use; A light sucking void of dark energy shot from my hands and blew a hole right into the Police vehicle's engine block, completely disabling it. Of course, I was met with equal retaliation seconds later; The driver of the burning wreck jumped out and started firing a pistol at me, which I easily deflected with Elliot U-0065's Psychokinetics. I then lifted the Striped Rabbit off the ground and brought him within reach.

" _This is all you, Man."_ I thought while stepping away from the _controls_ to my body. The moment Elliot U-0065 took primary control, our eyes changed from my Light blue to his Rainbow color, which caused the rabbits fearful eyes to open even further.

* * *

-=Elliot U-0065 Pov=-

"If you continue to pursue us, I will be forced to start dropping bodies at an unprecedented rate." I said with emphasis on the Ball of Dark energy in my right hand.

"Gimme a break, I'm just doin' my job." The rabbit replied Just before I threw him a few feet down the snow covered sidewalk.

"Well, call of the hunt, _savage_." I said just before turning away from the suit dressed rabbit.

" _What'd you say?"_ Elliot U-7825 asked.

"Enough to get them to back off… for a while anyway." I said while darting into an ally. I didn't want to worry Elliot U-7825 about what I really said, and how it would most likely provoke the Raxxlans. For some reason, this planet and this planet alone has this utter feeling of impunity, even in the face of death. It seemed that no matter how much force you showed, and how futile their weapons were, they would think themselves better. I remember it very clearly, just three universes over from mine, the Thargoids threatened to destroy Raxxla if the Raxxlans didn't yield to their rule. Instead of doing the obvious, the Raxxlans declared war on the Thargoids, and two days later Raxxla was a pile of asteroids.

Once we stole a pair of pants, a shirt, and a jacket from the thrift store. I set a course for Savannah central, one building in particular that I knew would be safe for us to reside in. just as I predicted, the Blizzard was caused by a massive thunderstorm bearing down on the rest of the city.

" _Where are we going?"_ Elliot U-7825 asked After about an hour and a half of evading the occasional police patrol.

"To a safehouse. It's just around the corner." I replied. Once I walked into the building, I was met with a brown bear sitting at the front desk, completely entranced with his phone. Seeing the preoccupied animal, I casually walked into the elevator across the lobby, and pressed the button leading to the eighteenth floor. When the door opened, I was met with the face of a Black panther.

"Good afternoon." I said while walking past him, completely disregarding my waterlogged condition. Elliot already asked numerous times why I hadn't shed the water with my P.K., although the only answer I gave him was that it would help sympathize our case. This floor was covered in red carpet, with plants lining the green colored wall. I slowly walked down the hall, resting my hand on each of the doors for a few seconds as I walked. It only took three doors for Elliot U-7825 to figure out what I was doing, but that didn't change my answer about why we were here.

"All you, Elliot Seventy-eight twenty-five." I said while handing the controls back.

"Who lives here?" He asked while pointing to the dark oak door with a brass handle.

"You're going to find out as soon as you knock, Smart one." I replied.

* * *

-=Elliot 7825 Pov=-

"Fine" I said just before rapping on the door a few times with my freezing cold knuckles. "Are you sure they're in here and It's not just residual DNA?" I asked in reference to Elliot U-0065 laying his hand on each door to precisely locate whomever he was searching for with his DNA location power.

" _I'm sure they're in there, just knock again."_ He replied.

A few seconds after my second set of knocks, I heard a female voice shouting from the other side. I still wished I was able to learn any language just by hearing it for a few minutes, but alas, that was not the case anymore. Once the quiet footsteps reached the door, I heard a lock clicking, then another lock clicking. Five deadbolts later, and the door opened to reveal a Tan colored Vixen wearing desert camouflage pajamas.

"Uhh, cum ai ieșit din spital deja?" The Vixen asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, sorry... wrong apartment." I said just before turning around.

"Elliot, așteptați!" The vixen shouted from her door.

How could this complete stranger know my name… unless. "Lycalopex Culpaeus?" I asked in an almost timid voice.

"DA, Lycalopex culpaeus. Sunt eu, Rhea. Ce sa întâmplat cu limba?" She asked while opening the door all the way, revealing that she was holding a handgun behind the door.

My response was one of uncertainty and doubt. "Nu... vor-vorbesc... limba ta." _I don't speak your language._

" _Elliot, you talk to her… ELLIOT!"_ I screamed mentally, only when I searched for the other Elliot, he was nowhere to be found within my body; The only thing I found was a mental note.

" _I've decided that my life has been long enough, and yours is just beginning. I've loved, lived, explored, and roamed the galaxy in peace. You, however, have not done such things; I honestly don't know how you haven't blown your brains out by now. Anyway, during our walk, I contemplated how to give you what power I can, although the only thing I was able to give you was my physical enhancements. I'm sure you've already figured some of it our by now, but just to tell you anyway._

 _I've merged my soul with something you shouldn't know about, so no names. But know that this..._ something… _Ya-know what, fuck it. I merged my soul with the Obelisk, and I'm probably dead now. That was the way we were going to gain entrance, by sacrificing our lives to gain one wish. It's basically a genie in a bottle, but with more death and stuff. I'm sure you'll know If I succeed or not in a few minutes, because if I failed, Zofia's going to kill you for sure. Good luck with the lady friend._

 _Yours truly: Jason Abrams."_

When I stopped reading the note within my body, I found myself laying on a bed, surrounded in darkness. I tried to look at the note one more time, although I found I was no longer able to enter and exit control of my body.

"Well shit, how's that for being thrown for a loop." I mumbled while sitting up in the darkness.

"Elliot, ești bine?" Rhea asked from within the darkness. "Jacqueline la locul de muncă, chiar acum. . . Ai a trecut afară în hol. . . am tras vă în camera mea, sper că nu te superi." She said while padding closer to me.

I knew attempting any further conversation wasn't going to happen, so I laid back and stared into the pitch darkness, simply waiting to see how my fate would be determined. Rhea Kept talking to me in a gentle and quiet tone, eventually sitting on the bed next to me.

"Mă întreb dacă toate speciile tale sunt această ademenitoare." She mumbled, probably contemplating something. I simply closed my eyes and started think about the creature I cared about most, Ella Lorenza. Even though she wasn't ever real, that was who I wanted to think about if death was possibly around the corner. I remembered her laugh, her smile… Everything I loved about her. I thought about the countless times I told my story to her at night, and how she would always fall asleep on my chest; Some might call it strange, but nether of us would've care if the whole world was watching. I could almost feel her soft fur between my fingers. I could almost feel the slow rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. It felt so real, and I was happy I could still recall memories to the details I could. I knew in my thoughts of Ella, I was falling asleep, but I didn't care, I felt like I was falling asleep with my daughter in my arms, and that was enough to put a smile on my face. It seemed as if Elliot U-0065 had successfully killed, or banished, or whatever it was he planned on doing to Zoifa. That meant I was safe from her agenda.

That got me thinking though, who's to say she wasn't acting on the galaxy's best interests? Sure, she acted like a total ass twenty-four seven, but what if it was for a reason that I, nor Elliot U-0065 could see. What if there really was a race of rampant beings coming from another galaxy? What if the Iwu were real?

I awoke to the sound of rain and the sensation of Ella stirring on my chest. As usual, I absentmindedly started scratching under her chin with a few fingers. "Morning, Ella." I whispered while opening my eyes. When I looked down, something was quit off about Ella's color. She was tan... and a lot older… AND NOT ELLA.

"Bună." Rhea said with a half lidded smile while poking her head out from under the blanket.

* * *

 **A/N: Only the true readers will understand why Elliot U-0065's goodbye note said 'Jason Abrams'. Lemme know why you think that's the case. I'd love to hear your theory.**

 **Reviews appreciated.**


	13. Chapter 13: Heart Troubles

_Chapter Thirteen: Heart Troubles_

 _Music is the universal language of mankind._

* * *

" _How could this have possibly happened?"_ I thought while staring at the tan Vixen laying on my chest. I surely remember falling asleep by myself, although I was thinking about Ella… It wasn't just my imagination, I was really feeling fur run through my fingers. That brings up another question though; Why the _hell_ would Rhea want to sleep on me?

"This better not be what I think it is." I said with a raspy voice from just having awoken. Outside a window to my right, I could see it was still raining, although there was a small amount of light filtering through the storm overhead. It must be monsoon season again, which means it's been a whole year since first coming here. "Aww, I probably missed my birthday again." I said with small hints of sadness.

"Nu fi trist." Rhea cooed while running her soft paw pads along my chest.

"Rhea… Where are my clothes?" I asked as I started feeling around my body, finding only the underwear I stole from the thrift shop. The next thing to cross my mind was 'Is she wearing anything?'

"If you're not wearing anything, I'm going to be having a long discussion about indecency." I said just before feeling for a bra strap on Rhea's back, to no avail. Thankfully, she did have underwear on, however, the giggle I received the moment I found her underwear, along with the saucy grin on her face, told me that wasn't the right course of actions. Moments later, she scooted closer to my face and licked my chin.

"Okay, enough of that." I grumbled just before rolling the fox off me, which was followed by standing from the bed, and making my way to the door. Right as I reached for the door handle, the door started to open, causing an involuntary dart behind its swinging path.

"Rhea, am putea avea nevoie de ajutorul tău în câteva; Încă nu am fost în stare să găsească nici o urmă de Elliot." Jacqueline said with exhaustion as she stood in the door frame. Nervous wouldn't even begin to describe what was going through my mind. I was just thankful Rhea knew to keep her eyes averted from my position.

"Sunt sigur că se va întoarce în cele din urmă." Rhea replied casually.

"Mmmhmm." Jacqueline replied before walking off without closing the door, which prompted me to return to my normal respiratory rates. That is until she knocked on the door I was still behind. "Să nu crezi că nu știu că ești acolo." She said just before sticking her head around the door.

"Hi." I said with a smug, albeit nervous grin. Jacqueline looked me over once before turning her gaze to the Tan Vixen.

"Avem cuvinte." Jacqueline spit towards Rhea, which caused her ears to splay. "You, come with me." She added while pulling on my wrist. I thought we were going to go on some lengthy walk for some reason, not across the hall, and into another room painted dark green. "Sit." She demanded while pointing to the bed.

"We didn't do anything… What am I saying, I was unconscious the whole time; I suppose she could have done things to me, but I can as-" I said while looking at the floor, only for it to be interrupted by Jacqueline dropping to all fours, growling as she did. "Whoa! Calm down, would you?" I said while holding out my hands defensively. The Snow leopard simply bared her fangs at me, and started pacing back and forth. Moments later, she collide into me with enough force to slide the both of us a few few across the bed.

I was most definitely staring into the eyes of death at that moment; Jacqueline was standing over my supine body on all fours with her fangs bared, ears splayed, and eyes sharp. My heart rate was at least a million beats per minute from the sole knowledge that there was an intelligent weapon standing over me, and she was probably pissed that I escaped the hospital, or that I slept with Rhea in her mind; I mean, technically, I did _sleep_ with her.

Just like snapping your fingers, Jacqueline lunged at me, causing my eyes to shut and my body to flinch with fear. By the time I realized my throat wasn't being eviscerated, Jacqueline had put one of her ears up to my chest, right next to my heart. After a few silent moments of me thinking ' _WTF is going on?'_ She lifted her head off my chest and looked me in the eyes, anger no longer present.

"Y-You're afraid of me." She said with dejection. I didn't dare say anything, as it could provoke her to lash out, all things considered. "Elliot, I-I would never hurt you." She said while caressing one of her paws across my cheek, which caused me to flinch. Once again, she rested an ear on my chest to listen for my heart, however, I don't think either of us were expecting what happened next.

I've never felt a numbness quite like the one shooting through my right arm. The numbness gave way to a shooting pain all throughout my arm and chest, and I almost immediately started to feel the room spinning. It took me a few seconds to realize what was happening, but I did figure out I was having my first heart attack at the age of twenty-seven; I guess all the stress from my life finally caught up to me in one big wallop.

"Antiplatelet agents... Beta blockers." I rasped while holding my chest around my heart. It took Jacqueline a moment of blankly staring at me, but once she realized what was going on, the Snow Leopard was out of the room in under a second. Maybe five or six seconds later, a cheetah was pressing her ear up to my chest.

"Este subsiding, Jacqueline!" The Cheetah shouted.

"Of course it's subsiding; I have full control of my subconscious actions." I said through gritted teeth. Normally, I would've been able to stop the spasm in a matter of seconds, but I guess without an active D.D.N.A.M in my body anymore, my control would be limited from now on. That wouldn't change the need for blood thinners and cardiac arrhythmia stabilizers. When Jacqueline returned, she had a few different colored capsules and a cup of water, and once I downed the two pills and drank the liquid, I made up my mind about the foreseeable future.

"I'm done." I said while standing from the foot of Jacqueline's bed. "I just need the clothes Rhea was drying for me, and I'll be going." I added just before walking out into the living room to wait for my clothing. About a minute later, Jacqueline came from the hall with the stolen clothing, my wingsuit and G-suit counterpart.

"Elliot, I-"

"DON'T… Just don't, Jacqueline." I interrupted while stepping into the repaired kryptek Mandrake onesie. Once I zipped up the suit, a holographic menu displayed on my left arm.

' _I fixed your stuff, and added some new features. JC.'_ Displayed on the orange hologram.

"Listen, I don't even know Why Elliot brought me here." I started to say while slipping on the thrift shop clothes over my G-suit. "I'm not even going to attempt to explain that bit of crap, but I know _this-_ " I said while motioning between me and Jacqueline. "-won't work… It was fun while it lasted." I said just as I tightened the last strap on my Wingsuit's harness.

"It was an accident, I just wanted to-" Jacqueline defended as I donned the multi-lensed helmet that went with the G-suit.

"How many _accidents_ will it take before you put me six feet under?" I asked while deftly tapping through the menu on my left arm to search for the adaptive color settings. Once I located the menu, I set the color pallet to automatic, causing the greens and browns of both my Wingsuit and G-suit to change to Kryptek Raid, a pale set of grays and blacks. Just as I reached for the door, Jacqueline started whimpering ever so slightly.

"P-please don't go."

"What do you want, Jacqueline!? I'm sorry for breaking your nose, but I can't keep having you jeopardize my life every time we come into contact for more than five minutes!" I shouted just before shutting the door rather forcefully. On my way down the red carpeted hallway, I found several tenants peaking outside their doors to see what the commotion was. When I stepped inside the elevator, I was accompanied by two panthers; One looked like the animal I encountered yesterday, and the other one seemed to be a female, perhaps his girlfriend. Neither seemed to be scared of me, only polite curiosity resided in their demeanor.

Just before the brass doors shut, I saw Rhea dart around the corner in an attempt to catch me. Thankfully, she missed the doors, which allowed me to sink to the floor, and take off my helmet. For no reason, I started staring into the six cameras pointed at different angles as If they held the answers to my questions.

"Pot obține o poză cu tine?" The female asked, which prompted me to look up at the black panther holding her cellphone.

"Nu vorbesc limba ta." I mumbled in response.

"Imagine? Uhh…" The panther said with uncertainty just before showing me what was on her screen.

"Oh, you want a picture… Why not." I said while standing up from my slumped position on the wall. "Da, imagine." I added.

This gave the two bright smiles as the male panther walked next to me, putting an arm over my shoulder. I simply stood at attention with my helmet held at my waist, and a convincing smile on my face. After the male had his picture taken, the two reversed positions and the female had her picture taken.

"Acest lucru este atât de misto, vă mulțumesc." The female said while looking at her phone.

Once the elevator reached the bottom floor, I fastened my helmet and left the building. I was almost instantly met with dozens of staring animals, almost as if they were waiting for me to leave the building. I knew that was impossible, so I paid no mind to the civilians as I deployed the wings on my suit; Once the wings spread to their maximum twelve foot wingspan, I started up the electric turbines in the pack, causing a spooling _krrr_ to emanate from my back. I then reached into each of the control handles on the wings, twisted the throttle, and launched into the air.

Below, I could see the two panthers waving at me, along with dozens of phones attempting to get a good picture in. I wasn't really in the mood to be under a microscope, and with that mindset, I activated the Quantum Refraction Field within the wingsuit, rendering me completely transparent. The first stop I needed to make was returning the stolen clothes I currently wore, although Tundra Town was still very snowy outside, forcing me to slow my flight down to a measly hundred and fifty kilometers per hour. Just before my landing, I deactivated the Q.R field, restoring my opaque appearance.

Once I removed the Wingsuit, I stripped off the thrift shop's clothing, leaving me in the now Snow camouflage G-suit. I folded up the pants, shirt and Jacket after I refastened the wingsuits seven point harness, and brought them up to the register. Without a single word, I walked back outside, and took off in the direction of precinct one, and when I passed over the border of Tundra town and in city center, my outfit changed from the whites of Kryptek Yeti to the Kryptek Raid grays and blacks. As I wove between the skyscrapers at a few hundred kilometers per hour, I noticed the EXO-35 was far more maneuverable, and it seemed to have more power than before; More of the improvements Judith made, I presume.

Eventually, I passed over precinct one, although I didn't land there; I was headed to the park just southwest, somewhere I always seemed to be drawn to. I ended up landing just next to the Piano outside the main entrance, and I was happy to find it unoccupied. Before I sat down to play, I wanted to move it where I belonged, the one place where everyone would hear it through sonic resonation. Even with the small Exoskeleton in my G-suit, I had a very hard time moving the piano, not because it was super heavy, but because the wheels on the bottom were about an inch in diameter. Eventually, I did get it to where I wanted it to be, and when I started to play, I was surprised it was actually in tune, unlike the Simulation counterpart.

* * *

For the next week or so, I made just enough to pay for the cheapest food I could find around the city, and the worst part was half my audience was something I would consider a good meal. My G-suit kept me clean through it's antibacterial inner lining, so I didn't look or smell worse for wear. Most days I would make about twenty _dollars,_ as they called it, per day playing the piano. I also had to deal with evading the police on several occasions, I guess because of the cruiser I blew up while escaping the hospital. The only time I really had a close call was while I was in a grocery store, and I couldn't fly away; Sure I could've burned holes in them with my Wingsuits lasers, but that would've antagonized the police further.

One particular day, I didn't know why there wasn't anyone in the park, I mean nobody passed by all day, par for one Tanuki riding a tiny bicycle. I played for hours all by myself in Frazier park, and even though there wasn't a soul in sight, I was content with listening to the soft sounds of my depressed strumming. By the time the Tanuki rode by, I had removed my Wingsuit, and unzipped my G-suit compression armor partially, enough to slip my hands out of the integrated gloves and arms; The only downside was it left me without a shirt.

"Hei, Elliot." I heard someone said from behind me, my second visitor.

"Miss Hopps." I replied courteously. "Nu vorbesc limba ta."

"Dar tu ai fost în stare acum câteva zile. Ce s-a întâmplat?" She asked just before I stopped playing to face the Small rabbit, who was wearing her police uniform. Although it was faint, I could see something was wrong in her mannerisms, almost as if she was scared of something. I figured it wasn't anything more than her talking to me, but just in case, I stuck my arms in the sleeves, and zipped up the chest part of my Kryptek Mandrake colored armor. This only left me exposed at my face, due to the compression armor coming up to my chin, like a turtle neck; Even though we were friends, I didn't dare lower my guard in front of the officer.

"Are you okay?" I asked while carefully watching how she responded. " _An ear piece."_ I saw a transparent wire running from her right ear down behind her head; I was about to be played. Without showing a signs of detecting the wire, I picked up my wingsuit, pretending that I was going to give Judy something, however, I was really preparing to draw the FN-103 handgun strapped for a right handed draw. I also made sure the Multi-lensed helmet was nearby in case things turned sour.

She started rambling about something, and I saw her paws start to fidget nervously the more she talked. I was almost positive I was being setup for an ambush, although I had to be sure before making any rash decisions, ya-know, like blowing a hole in the rabbit's chest. All it would take to find out was a few seconds with the helmet's thermal overlay on. The downside to putting the helmet on would be possibly forcing whoever was on the other end of Judy's earpiece to spring the trap. ' _better to have them do it now than later.'_ I thought just before slipping the full face covering helmet on. "Huh." I said with surprise at a complete lack of heat signatures. "You're just nervous." Upon closer inspection, I felt like an idiot; Her earpiece was connected to a MP3 player strapped to her waist. Before Judy started talking again, I pulled up a menu on my holographic arm display, which upon opening an app, brought up two keyboards in our respective languages.

" _Translator."_ I typed into the orange hologram, which caused Judy's mouth to form an O shape.

" _Why can't you speak my language anymore? You could a few days ago."_ She typed, followed by looking into my eyes for answers.

" _That wasn't me talking to you. It's rather complicated, but the end result isn't all that bad… I hope."_

" _Uh-huh, I'll be sure to find out once you can actually talk to me. So, have you been here all day? You were in the hospital up until a week ago, when a BOLO was put out to keep on the lookout for a Human wearing a gown."_ Once I finished reading Judy's message, I began to scratch the back of my head nervously.

" _That wouldn't Include the destruction of a police cruiser, would it?"_

"CE! Ai distrus crucișătorul de poliție!?" Judy squawked at me just before jumping in my lap to get a better angle on my face. She then pointed one of her tiny paws at me, and started to say something, although she caught herself and started furiously typing on the hologram attached to my arm.

" _If you didn't save my life, I would arrest you right here and now."_

I tried, I tried really hard not to smile or laugh, but the sight of a two foot rabbit threatening me was just too adorable not to laugh at. Amidst my sniggering, I slung the EXO-35 over my back, and hoisted the rabbit onto my shoulder while I stood up. At first, Judy attempted to escape, although once I scratched just behind her ears, it was like she turned to molasses. The the first time we met I did the same thing, and it caused her to practically go limp. Another thing that was repeated almost word for word was her starting to make a teeth grinding noise, which was a rabbit's equivalent to a purr.

I walked us a little ways into the grass clearing all around the piano, and laid down with Judy on one side and my equipment on the other. It was almost sunset by now, and the park had officially closed an hour ago, which was probably the reason for her showing up.

" _If you're not here to arrest me, why are you in a closed park all by yourself?"_ I typed into my orange hologram while looking at Judy.

After a few seconds of her mentally debating something, she started typing away at the keyboard. " _I could ask the same for you."_

I simply pointed to the piano a dozen m/eters away.

" _Right, that was pretty stupid, wasn't it. Nevertheless, you shouldn't be in here after the park closes; Security might think you're homeless or something."_ She replied with a small chuckle to which I frowned internally; I was homeless, not only that, I was broke, and it wasn't like I was going to be hired by anyone… maybe the circus if I was lucky. I suppose playing the piano would put me under the category of self employment, but the money I was making hardly constituted ' _employment'._

" _You never answered my question; Why'd you come here so late? Is it a drug deal? Has the rabbit gone rogue?"_ I typed, causing the rabbit to lightly smack me in the cheek since that was the only thing exposed to attacks.

" _No, I got a noise complaint of piano music blasting in the park. I'm glad it was you though, I really needed to ask you something, but you ended up falling off the building."_

" _Ask away."_ I replied just before the rabbit climbed atop my stomach.

" _Lift your legs so I can have a chair."_

" _Wow, that was quite the serious question."_ I typed while bending my knees for Judy to have a back rest. By the way Judy was nervously fidgeting, I suspected her question to have something to do with life or death, something completely embarrassing, or some strange question about me.

" _I like someone_ (Nailed it) _and I don't know If he likes me."_

" _Why do you think I would know that answer?"_ I replied with a raised eyebrow.

" _You said you were super old, so I figured you'd know."_

" _Gee, way to compliment a guy."_

"NU, nu am să spun asta!" Judy squealed in defense, causing a smug smile to form on my face.

" _Relax, I know I'm old. So let me guess, this male you like is Nick?"_ I swear, the face Judy donned was the most priceless combination of disbelief and shock. " _Guess what, he likes you too."_

That was probably the worst possible thing I could've typed; For the next _hour and a half_ , well past dark, she sat on my stomach, asking me millions of questions about _exactly_ what Nick told me. I attempted to keep all my answers as obscure as possible, although, you can only keep that dance up for so long; I found out the magic number was forty-five minutes with Judy

Once her knowledge carvings had been sated, we started talking about random things like, 'why did my ship leave me here?', and 'when would they come back to get me?'. I really didn't know the answer to that question, and I could tell by Judy's forlorn expression, she knew I was telling the truth when I typed ' _I don't know'._

Judy stared theorizing all sorts of reasons as to why my ship would have needed to leave me here, all of which were sad excuses to dismiss the fact that they left me for dead on a semi-hostile world without anything but the skin on my back. Nevertheless, I let Judy ramble on and on about it due to it making a visible improvement in her demeanor; By the time she finally finished rambling about my ship, I had formed a question about a certain past event.

" _So, I had my first Heart attack last week, and the cause was one of my friends scaring me. They've done crap like this a few times, and this time was the last straw. So I broke off our friendship, and I wanted to get you're opinion on it."_

" _Well, I think they shouldn't have scared you to begin with. I mean, a heart attack, you must have been really scared. So, how good of friends were you?"_

" _At first, the closest friend I had other than my sister. (former wife)"_

" _Elliot, was this someone more than just a friend?"_ Judy asked. After a good pause, I slowly nodded my head. " _Well, I think you should tell me what happened."_

Reluctantly, I spent about fifteen minutes graphically describing the events leading up to Jacqueline giving me a heart attack, and the events just after. Upon finishing my explanation, Judy had her eyes closed, and she was nodding to affirm her attention. The next thing I knew it, She punched me in the forehead as hard as she could, which in hindsight only hurt a little; It was the unexpected shock that really made it hurt in the moment.

" _You need a serious biology lesson. When someone such as the female you're describing does that, it's an attempt at claiming you, not her scaring you. Now, first thing tomorrow, you need to get some flowers_ (Definitely not happening) _and go apologize; She was obviously sorry about it since you said she started crying just before you left."_

" _*Sigh* Da." I replied quietly._

" _Come on, I'll walk you home."_ Judy typed into the orange hologram just before hopping off my stomach. I guess that was the other thing that was bound to be revealed. Sure, I could just walk us to a random apartment building, and say goodbye. I just didn't really have the energy to bullshit people anymore.

" _I don't have a home."_

"Ce? De ce nu?" Judy said with an incredulous tone. " _Why not, Elliot?"_ She typed a few seconds later.

" _I make like twenty dollars a day; I can barely afford food for myself, let alone an apartment. No one want's to hire a human, so I'm forced to play piano all day just to put what tastes like food scraps on the table."_

"Elliot. Cum nu a putut spune nimănui?" She asked with sorrowful eyes, and laid back ears. I simply stuck out my arm for her to type.

" _How could not tell anyone?"_

" _Who am I supposed to tell? The police officers trying to arrest me?"_ My statement seemed to really hit home with the Rabbit, and she completely zoned out for at least five minutes, simply staring at me with a blank expression. Eventually, she came out of the stupor, and started typing into my holographic translator.

" _You can stay with me and Nick. I'm sure he'll understand."_

" _I'll stick with alleys and parks. You don't need to lose your job because of one fugitive."_ The moment Judy read my message, She punched me in the chest, followed by what sounded like cursing as she held her paw.

" _That wasn't very smart."_

"Nu mai spuneţi!" She shouted in a sarcastic tone. After a minute of her pacing back and forth while holding onto her tyrobbing paw, Judy began typing into the translator.

" _You're coming with me to get food. Then we're going to go to my apartment, where you'll stay until I deem you fit for the world."_

" _Ooh, so I'm your prisoner/pet project now?"_ I replied just before standing up, which prevented further dialog between us. This evented in Judy glaring at me for a few seconds, huffing, and walking towards the park exit. I followed behind her, strapping on my wingsuit as we walked. I ended up not donning the Multi-lens helmet for the reason of looking at the city lights all around. I would've far preferred the sight of stars, but that wouldn't happen anywhere around here due to the light pollution.

Judy seemed to be happily listening to her music through what I previously thought to be a wire, but I was just fine observing the city in relative silence.

"Vrei să asculți?" Judy asked after a few minutes of her skipping to the beat of what she was listening to. I simply opened the translator on my arm again. " _Do you want to listen?"_

" _I won't understand it."_ I replied with mild disappointment. The only music I could really enjoy was instrumental, although there was a fair amount in the radio, which I was able to pick up via my Wing-suits long range transmitter/receiver.

" _So? It's still music."_

"Bine, mergeți mai de-departe." I said.

"Am crezut că nu putea vorbi Daurilian."

" _You have to type it, I only know a few words."_

" _Nevermind."_ Judy replied just before pulling out her earbud from the mp3 player.

* * *

 **(Class – Pentru dragoste) If you dare.**

At first it was okay due to the lack of words, but sure enough, I couldn't understand a word of the music once the lyrics hit. Almost immediately, the singer became more of a nuisance than anything else; I'm sure it sounded just fine to Judy, but to me it was just a series of vocal patterns that I was still learning. Judy was quite busy dancing to the song while we walked down the sidewalks, and she must've become completely oblivious to a certain rustle coming from an alleyway to our left.

My first instinct was an ambush (as usual with my training), however, once I donned the multi-lensed helmet and deployed my dual, rental tracking beam lasers, the sound disappeared; By this point, Judy had stopped walking, and turned around, probably from seeing two arms protruding from my back, extending over my head.

" _Two signatures detected: Range: twenty meters. Height: ground level. Threat level: five."_ Displayed into my helmets heads up display.

" _What the hell"_ I thought _._ Level five target threats were usually reserved for humanoid drones, not some drunk animal in the alleyway. My equipment rarely betrayed me, which meant the presence of something far more dangerous than I previously thought. With my newly acquired information, I activated my Q.R field in hopes whatever it was in the alley wouldn't see my approach. Every fifteen feet or so, I would check back to see Judy's position, which happened to be a tactical withdrawal, probably for the best, all things considered.

I was ready to strike; Even with my weakened state, I would still put up one hell of a fight.

I pressed my back up to the brick wall of whatever multistory building formed one side of the alley, and prepared to round the corner and open fire. Once I set my plan into motion, it was instantly shattered into a thousand pieces, a thousand, white, fur covered pieces. Without a thought of it being a trap, I retracted my beam lasers, deactivated the Q.R. field, and removed my helmet to see what was in front of me with my own eyes.

"Daddy, you came back for me." The small, clothes-less vixen chirped while running towards me with open arms. Once again, without a second thought, I embraced the small kit in a tight hug, tears already falling from my face.

"Ella." I whispered while holding onto the kit with all I had. I didn't care that Ella wasn't ever a real being, only that my daughter was hugging and nuzzling into my armor covered neck. I was so enthralled to see Ella again, I completely missed the much larger figure walking towards me with two blade protruding from its arms.

"Long time no see Eagle keeper."

"A-Alex." I whispered with awe.

"I need to talk to you… alone. Meet me at this address in two days. We have some catching up to do." He said just before walking off into the night.

* * *

 **A/N: Lemme know if you found any typos, reviews are** **appreciated. I did spend like, four days writing this.**


	14. Chapter 14: A Secret Reveled

_Chapter fourteen: A Secret Revealed_

 _The prettiest smiles hide the deepest secrets. The prettiest eyes have cried the most tears. And the kindest hearts have felt the most pain._

* * *

I completely lost it as I held my daughter. The same daughter I watched have her brains blown out. She was as beautiful as ever, pure white fur covering her entire body, and the exotic vertical stilted eyes I cloned after she went blind. There was no mistaking it, the ecstatic Vixen I was hugging was my daughter… my Ella.

"Daddy, why did you leave for so long? Uncle Alex and I waited for you, but you didn't come back." Ella asked while wrapping her arms around my neck.

"I'm S-sorry, Pumpkin. I promise I won't ever l-leave you again." I whispered with a waver.

"FREEZE!" A male voice shouted seconds before I was hit over the head with a very hard object. Ella squealed the moment I was hit, and all I could do was watch a tiger police officer start taking Ella away from me. She tried to get away, screaming 'no' the whole time the tiger dragged her away.

"Fight." I coughed out, which gave Ella the permission to do anything and everything necessary to win. Ella instantly calmed down, and let the tiger pick her up; Big mistake. The clothes-less ten year old went into action, and the first thing she did was bite down on the neck of the tiger, which caused him to throw Ella off. She didn't even seemed fazed by the power of a quarter ton feline throwing her, which really showed when Ella landed on her feet five or six meters away by contorting her body mid air. In the light provided by the streetlights, I could make out blood stained all over her muzzle, as well as blood rushing from the tiger's throat.

"You leave my daddy alone." She demanded just before the tiger started jabbering into his radio; Where Judy was in all this, I hadn't the slightest clue.

"Ella, battle plan three-six-B." I rasped out, which told Ella to make her way towards me for the retrieval of a weapon. I was unaware of how hard I'd been hit, although that fog lifted with the warm sensation of blood dripping from my ears.

Meanwhile, the tiger had drawn his tranquilizer in an attempt to stop the small, white weapon. I guess the ZPD had a few upgrades since my last run in; The officer's single shot tranquilizer was now a pellet firing, semi-automatic, gunpowder powered tranquilizer pistol. It mattered not, Ella was almost effortlessly dodging the pellets as she ran towards me. When the tiger ran out of ammunition, he started a panic reload, fumbling with the magazine in an attempts to reload the weapon quickly.

In the same time it took the tiger to reload, Ella ran past me, pulled a small duffle bag from behind a dumpster, and retrieved her small pistol. When she turned on the tac-light, it was like the sun was being projected from her hands, illuminating the tiger with so much light I was forced to close my eyes from the reflective brightness; The flashlight was designed with that mode, which was a crowd control weapon designed to blind adversaries. Under normal operating conditions, it wasn't nearly that bright, but this special mode allowed it to do so momentarily.

"TRECI PE PODEA!" Ella commanded once she trained the weapon on the tiger's chest.

"Bine! Doar, nu mă ucide." The officer pleaded as he dropped to his stomach.

"Slide tranchilizant peste!" She commanded, which prompted the tiger to slide the tranquilizer over. Ella quickly snatched it, and fired three pellets into the tiger's neck. Once the officer stopped all movement, Ella darted to me, and started looking over my head. By the way she started frantically searching through her bag, I assumed it was really, _really_ bad. I started seeing a dark tunnel close in around me, although I still had very clear questions as to where Judy was.

"Daddy, I'm going to fix you. Don't worry." Ella said in a reassuring tone, however, I could tell she was panicking inside. When she returned from the duffle bag, I saw only a blurry white blob working around my head. After what seemed like only a few seconds of Ella working on me, I heard the sound of sirens closing in.

"Run." I whispered.

"No! I won't leave you here." Ella squawked as she continued bandaging my head.

"I'm dead weight. Take my pack, and armor. Don't let them get it."

"NO!" She screamed as warm tears dribbled onto my face.

"You know you have to." I cooed just before pulling Ella into a tight embrace, which allowed me to kiss her forehead. "Find uncle Alex, he'll know how to save me."

Ella started to uncontrollably wail, and I thought she wasn't going to leave my side; I wasn't so much worried about her getting capture, more of how many bodies would pile up while Ella defended me.

"D-Don't make me go." She whimpered. "I want to stay with you."

"You have to pumpkin… you have to."

Hearing Ella weep uncontrollably was the most painful thing I ever heard, but I knew for the safety of the entire ZPD, she needed to take my things and leave me. I was both relieved that she was leaving me, and worried that I was going to be captured when Ella started taking off my wingsuit and G-suit, throwing the clothing in her bag, and the wingsuit over her shoulder due to it's size. This left me laying on the cold hard ground, only in my underwear. Right as Ella's blurry blob disappeared from my vision, the police pulled up on both sides of the road, immediately tending to their downed officer. Eventually, I saw the shape of a wolf standing over me, followed by a small sting on my neck; I guess the wolf shot me with a tranquilizer, because the next thing I knew it, I was in a hospital… AGAIN!

* * *

My head was quite itchy, but when I tried to scratch it, I found my arms and legs strapped to the bed as if I was a mental patient. " _At least they were smart about it this time."_ I thought while attempting to itch my head on the pillow, which only partially worked. The itchy feeling had been sated about ninety percent of the way, bringing me to observe my surroundings. I had several IV lines in my arms, and they were attached to a bag of clear fluid overhead. I wasn't wearing anything beside the skivvies i wore upon my capture. To my right, I saw a heart monitor beeping at a steady forty-two BPM.

It took me awhile of looking around the room for me to notice the small rabbit sitting on my left; It was the same rabbit I had a run in last time I escaped the hospital. Jack Savage was his name according to Elliot U-0065.

"Unde e costumul?" He asked in a deadpan once my eyes met his.

"Nu vorbesc limba ta." I replied. The striped rabbit simply sighed, and left the room. I was starting to learn more and more of what the words meant, but I still pulled the 'I don't speak your language.' card whenever I didn't feel like getting a headache in attempts to understand what the other ' _M_ _ammal_ ' was saying. I waited in the room for awhile, attempting to see where I was through the tiny window on the door; I wasn't in a normal hospital, I could tell that right away. First, the paint on the walls wasn't in very good condition.

" _Maybe one of those black sight interrogation camps."_ I thought a few moments before the striped rabbit returned with none other than Jacqueline, who didn't seem to happy.

"Elliot, what did you do?" Jacqueline asked with worry.

"Nothing that involves you." I replied in an attempt to reassure her that she couldn't be brought in from what I had done.

"C'mon, Elliot. I'm trying to help you."

"And I'm trying to keep you safe. You can refuse to help him ya-know." I replied while the rabbit re-seated himself, Jacqueline simultaneously walking to the bedside.

"No… I can't. As a medical professional, I'm obligated to help the police when a suspect is under my supervision."

I simply nodded in understanding while turning my head to the rabbit. "Du-te... dracului." G _o to... hell._ I hissed, causing Jacqueline to chuckle.

"Of course you would know how to say that." Jacqueline said once she sat next to Savage. He began to speak, and Jacqueline started translating shortly after.

"Where is the suit?"

"Oh, my three piece is back home." I replied with a smug grin. Jacqueline was seriously close to laughing already, something I couldn't figure out, as the joke wasn't all that funny.

"Cut the crap, Elliot. I can pin you for the attempted murder of a police officer right here and now." Jacqueline translated.

"I'd love to see you try." I replied with the same grin. "Besides, as the official diplomat for Humanity, I have full immunity; Oh and one more thing Jack, If you were to attempt taking my wingsuit, that would be an act of war. Just thought you'd like to know." I chirped with impunity. Once Jacqueline relayed the message, Jack nodded for a few seconds, stood up and walked over to me, then rammed a taser into my side.

"Asta e tot ce ai?" _That's all you got?_ I calmly asked as the electricity shot through my body. Unlike the movies, there wasn't a crackling sound of a taser, only the sound of the beeping of the Heart monitor, which still said forty-two BPM.

Once Jacqueline took notice of the Rabbits actions, she started yelling at him about stuff, which was shrugged off as the rabbit in a three piece suit continued to electrocute me. It was almost as if a switch flipped in Jacqueline's mind; I saw her eyes sharpen, and her claws start to extract from her paws.

"Don't do it. I have all the proof I need to have him arrested." I calmly stated while adjusting my head on the pillow, electricity still going through my body. This seemed to make Jack even more flippant about my well being, which was shown by the taser being rammed into my neck. Unlike my side, when he hit my neck with the direct current, it hurt like a bitch. I began to see flashes of light in my vision as my brain was being flooded with electricity, although, just like before, I showed no signs of pain.

Jack was quite a persistent one, attempting to get the information out of me by shocking everywhere it hurt most. Neck, armpits, genitals, I made a complete map of everywhere he shocked me so I could one day return the favor, not out of hate, but to show him what it felt like. After what I estimated to be an hour of Jack shocking me, and Jacqueline restraining herself from tearing his head off, Savage's taser ran out of power.

The second Jack closed the door, Jacqueline rushed to my side and started untying my restraints. "No, stop-stop-stop-stop. You'll get in trouble for aiding a criminal."

"You can't be serious, Elliot! He just tortured you." Jacqueline shrieked with anger.

"Not the first time, not the last time. Listen, I'm going to be fine, I can endure this forever given the proper cause." I said while thinking of Ella.

Jacqueline remained completely silent, as if she was unsure on how to proceed. I took notice of this, and determined it was due to how we left things off. "Hey… I'm… I'm sorry for getting mad at you after you scared me. I didn't know you were trying to claim me." I murmured while looking into her cobalt blue eyes.

"I... how did you find out that's what I was doing?" Jacqueline asked with partially flattened ears.

"Someone told me just before I was arrested."

"Oh." She replied with now fully splayed ears and a downcast expression. "I'm sorry for giving you a heart attack."

"Apology accepted. I would give you a hug, but I seem to be a little preoccupied." I quipped with a light tug at my restraints.

"… I could give you a hug." Jacqueline suggested doubtfully.

"Sure, my afráta gatáki." I replied before Jacqueline entangled her arms around my unclothed back, which was followed by pressing her soft head up to the crook up my neck. After a minute or two of feeling Jacqueline's soft fur on my skin, she lifted her head to look at me.

"I'm your kitty?" Jacqueline asked as she stared into my soul.

"Only if you want to be." I answered with the sensation of butterflies in my stomach. Jacqueline smiled at me moments before licking me on the area I was tased. Jacqueline started quietly purring (for her) while she held onto me, and I felt different in that moment. It was as if someone opened a part to me that was sealed up from the world; The part of me that cared for others, and I'm not talking like with Ella, that was different. What I felt was the sensation that a stranger's life had meaning again, not just another set of equations about the benefits and repercussion to ending their life.

* * *

For the next few days, Jack Savage came in to _interrogate_ me in various ways that wouldn't leave any visible traces; Electricity and drugs were the main two, and to be honest, it really wasn't all that bad. He knew any permanent damage would backfire terribly, however, he didn't know about the morphine drip Jacqueline hooked up against my recommendation; If it weren't for the side effects, I would be all for it, but the combination of spaced out and loopy thought processes made it very difficult to keep my composure around Savage. I did slip one time by calling him a zebra, although he just took it as an insult.

I still hadn't told Jacqueline about Ella or Alex, mainly because I wasn't sure if they remembered what happened in Prism Security. It turned out that locating me was going to take a bit longer than expected, as Jacqueline informed me that I wasn't in a normal hospital, I was on one of the YSG bases with over three-thousand soldiers; Darn close to my guess of being locked up at a black sight.

"So, Jack. When am I going to get a trial?" I asked; Once Jacqueline translated it, Savage replied.

"You don't get a trial. You're guilty because I say so." Ahh, so that was the way this was going to work.

"Let me ask you something. Do you think you can keep me in here forever?" I asked, which received some serious thought on the matter.

"Yes, I do believe so."

"You're mistaken." I replied. The moment she translated my message, I ripped the restraints right off the bed, and shot my hand around the stripped rabbit's neck; In secret, I'd been weakening the straps on my wrists day in and day out, which weren't ever checked for damage. Savage immediately reached for a weapon in his suit, only ending in me breaking his arm and dislocating the other from its socket. He screamed in agony, although I was far from being done with him… just not today. I simply stood from the bed with Jack suspended by the neck, walked into the bathroom on my right, and started tying him up with the remains of my restraint straps; Not the best utensils for long term holding, but all I needed was a few minutes.

"Tu nu va scăpa." The rabbit spit out while I finished tying him to the bathroom sink.

"He said you won't escape." Jacqueline relayed.

"Do you really think I would just haphazardly make an escape attempt? This wasn't just some random thing, I planned for this day." Unbeknownst to anyone but me, Alex found me last night, and sneaked in with my Wingsuits Q.R. field to aid him. I already planned to escape, and that's why the restraints were weakened for today, I was just waiting on my cyborganic friend to arrive. Just as planned, Alex and Ella were waiting right outside the door, dozens of unconscious bodies all around them.

Alex was wearing his plate carrier and dark blue cap. He also had the cool eye covering lenses, which were installed and deployed directly from his head. He was wielding nothing more than his robotic limbs; Each arm contained a black nano-blade that would deploy from his wrist and protrude almost two and a half feet. In his thighs were dual S&W 500's with the seven-hundred grain armor piercing ammunition.

Ella was wearing the green compression armor I made for her, and her specially designed pistol with AP and chemical ammunition staggered into the magazine. The chemical round worked with my condensed cyanide compound, and a small explosive charge to spread the hydrocyanic acid more rapidly throughout the targets body. The moment Ella saw me, she started clinging onto my leg.

"I promised I'd come back." She said while squeezing me with all her might.

"Elliot, who are they?" Jacqueline asked, instantly being answered by Alex drawing one of the pistols from his leg and Ella aiming hers; I guess they remembered being shot, or at the least, who Jacqueline was.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa!" I shouted while stepping in the way. "This isn't her, m'kay?" I said, which seemed to do it for Alex, but not Ella.

"YOU SHOOTED ME!" Ella shouted with indignance.

"It wasn't her pumpkin. That's not her." I cooed while petting the hatefully splayed Arctic fox's ears.

"Elliot, is… is that your daughter?" Jacqueline asked in disbelief.

"Mmmhhmm."

"I thought she was jus-"

"Nooo-no." I interjected a few seconds before letting Ella go. "Now Ella, don't be shooting miss Jacqueline, she's our friend, okay?" I said in a stern tone while retrieving my suit of Compression armor from Alex, who stowed it in a backpack.

"Yes daddy." She replied while holstering the sidearm. "My name's Ella Lorenza." She added with an extended paw to Jacqueline, who cautiously shook the Vixens gloved paw, still donning a 'WTF' expression plastered across her spotted face.

"Good, now that we're all one big, happy family again, we should probably go." Alex suggested in a deadpan tone.

"Right, what's our transport?" I asked as we jogged in the direction of the exit, Alex first, Ella second, Jacqueline third, and me last.

"The YF-185. It's in a bombardment path right now, I'm calling it down." Alex said while swinging open a door that lead to a stairwell. On the other side happened to be a panther walking up the stairs; He was drop kicked by Ella, sending him down the stairs. She didn't give him a moment to recover as she threw one punch to the side of his head, knocking the feline out cold.

"Where did you learn that!?" Jacqueline asked enthusiastically.

"My daddy taught me." Ella beamed in return.

"Up the stairs, GO!" Alex whisper yelled as Jacqueline looked at me from Ella's statement.

By the time we made it to the top floor, I was just starting to become tired, whereas Ella and Jacqueline were heavily panting; Alex didn't really get tired, or run out of power due to the strange origin of his limbs. When the door swung open, I found we were in the middle of a densely packed forest, and the base we were on had been cut right into it. Unbeknownst to us, the door had an alarm trip sensor on it that activated the moment the door was kicked open; It could also have to do with Alex breaking part of the door frame to get the locked unlocked.

"It seems they've noticed the lack of conscious soldiers." Alex said in reference to the alarms blaring.

"It doesn't matter, the jet's here and we need to leave." I shouted at the sight of the YF-185 disabling it's Q.R field moments before it touched down on the multi-story building's helipad.

"Jacqueline, you sit in my lap, Ella you sit with Alex." I ordered while climbing the ladder to the jet's cockpit. Alex was next to enter, although he forgoed the ladder, simply leaping into the cockpit with Ella in his arms. Jacqueline was last, and right as she made it to the top, I heard the sound of a rotor based aircraft along with seeing a single radar signature on the display to my front. She sat in my lap as the canopy closed, and the moment it was sealed, we were bombarded with automatic weapons fire from a transport helicopter circling us. Small arms fire wouldn't even scratch the paint on this thing; With that knowledge, I calmly lifted off the ground in VTOL mode, enabling the Q.R field and sonic dampeners simultaneously. In one smooth push of my hand, we were accelerated off into the morning light at mach eighteen.

"Pressurize cabin." I commanded, earning a loud, albeit momentary hiss seconds later.

"Everyone alright?" I asked while looking around the cockpit. Everyone nodded except Jacqueline, who was already enthralled at the rapidly changing scenery. After only a couple of minutes, we arrived in Zootopia completely inconspicuously.

"What, how are we here already? The drive up to the military base was like, six hours." Jacqueline asked in confusion.

"We were going two-hundred miles per minute." I replied as the jet moved into a hover, parallel with Jacqueline's apartment building.

* * *

-=Two weeks later=-

I spent the last few weeks mainly with Ella and Alex, but now was the time to go see Jacqueline. I was still without a home, and though Alex offered to share the apartment he bought (No idea how) I turned it down. I also wanted Ella to stay with Alex, however, she had other plans that involved puppy dog eyes and whimpering. Currently, we were trying to determine who was responsible for my kidnapping, and who wanted my technology. So far there wasn't any luck in either department, but onto better news, I was able to clear my name from all charges; The tiger police officer was charged with police brutality and corruption, so I was completely off the hook with that one, and as for Jack Savage; He didn't dare come forward about what I did to him due to the illegal things he did to me. Overall, things weren't all that bad. My daughter was once again in my arms, and I was free to roam the streets without worry; That didn't keep me from packing Armor Piercing Incendiary or Ella donning her Chemical rounds.

On the topic of Ella, I made it a goal for her and I to wear normal clothing; She was wearing a blue dress, and I wore simple jeans and a gray T-shirt Alex bought for me. I became so accustomed to my G-suit being the only clothing I owned, it seemed weird not being squeezed twenty-four seven. Ella was riding on my shoulder as we walked through the city streets, and although we received plenty of quizzical looks, nether of us cared. It was sunny outside, and there were only a few white clouds in the sky, a slightly abnormal combination considering it was monsoon season.

We ended up making a loop around downtown before heading to Jacqueline's apartment, I just needed to make a stop along the way. Our destination was a tall apartment building where I would hopefully find Nick and Judy; It was a Saturday after all. Once I found their apartment number, I knocked on the door, and was greeted not by Nick or Judy, but Stu Hopps, who started intently staring at the adorable Vixen atop my shoulders. Since my time escaping the YSG base, I learned a fair amount of the Daurilian language thanks to Ella and Alex, meaning I could converse pretty well most of the time; I guess I was a natural at languages.

"Good afternoon, I was wondering if Nick and Judy had a few minutes to talk?" I asked while removing Ella from my shoulders. "I want them to meet someone." I added with a gesture to Ella, who was holding onto my hand with her slender paw.

"Uhh… JUDY, the human's here to see you… He has a fox with him!" Stu shouted just before shutting the door in my face.

"Oh, how kind of you Mister Hopps, I really appreciate you letting me in." I murmured in a faux thankful tone, causing an adorable giggle from Ella.

"Daddy, why do I need to meet them again?" Ella asked one her chortling subsided.

"Because they don't remember you, and if something were to happen to me, I need them to know who you are." I answered seconds before the door was opened by a very nervous Judy.

"H-hey, no hard feelings, right?"

"If you're referring to the thing after the park, I really don't care anymore. Oh, and look at me, I can speak your language now." I added, which seemed to take Judy by surprise.

"It's only been two weeks!" She squealed.

"I'm just good at learning I guess… Listen, I came by so you to meet someone." I said while squeezing Ella's paw.

"Uhh, who am I meeting?" Judy asked with confusion.

"My da-" I stopped mid sentence from looking down to Ella, who was simply not there. "Ella, turn off the Q.R.F, and say hello." I chastened. Shortly after, the blue dressed vixen re-appeared for Judy to see.

"Hi. My name's Ella." She said while extending a paw to the slightly smaller rabbit.

"Hi, Ella. I'm Judy." She said in a high pitched voice, simultaneously attempting to sate her intrigue on how Ella turned invisible.

"Hi Judy… Can we go now?" Ella asked while looking up at me.

"Ella, C'mon. You still need to meet Nick."

"OH, where are my manners, come in." Judy insisted while stepping aside from the door to allow us passage.

"You go ahead, I need to talk to Judy for a minute." I said while lightly pushing Ella into the apartment.

"When did you get a job? Kit sitting no less." Judy squealed as I knelt closer to her height.

"I didn't. Ella's my daughter." I replied, causing Judy's eyes to widen.

"H-HOW!" She squealed while jumping into my neck for a hug.

"I adopted her se… awhile ago."

"Oh my gosh, she's beautiful." Judy said with a glance to the kit currently talking with some other rabbits in the apartment.

"Yeah, I found her on the street, she was blind. I gave her some new eyes, and raised her ever since."

"Oh, she's so pretty, how old is she?… Wait…. Elliot, you haven't been here that long. How could you have adopted someone that fast?" Judy asked with suspicion.

"It's a really long story I don't care to explain right now. I just wanted to ask you, if something happened to me-"

"Yes, of course Nick and I would take care of her." Judy interrupted with a heartwarming smile, prompting me to pull the small bunny into a hug. During our embrace, I scratched behind her ears, causing a quiet purr to come from her.

"You should know I trained her the best I could. She's quite dangerous… oh, and she's eleven now." I said after setting Judy back down.

"Oh come on, I don't see how-" Judy's sentence was suspended at the sight of almost a dozen rabbits charging at Ella, who was backing away, and simultaneously disabling every rabbit with ease; This created a long line of groaning rabbits on the floor. "… Sweet cheese and crackers." Judy muttered in awe.

"ELLA!" I chastened while walking into the white themed apartment, causing the fox to turn towards me with splayed ears and a tucked tail.

"They didn't believe I could fight." She defended wit ha gesture to the rabbits.

"It's cool Human!" One of the groaning rabbits shouted to defend Ella. "We kinda started it." The tan bunny added while sitting upright.

"... Hey Russell." I replied after a moment of squinting.

"You remember me?" He inquired with doubt.

"Course I do; I remember everyone. Now, Ella, just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should."

"...Sorry." She mumbled while looking at the floor.

"Just use your judgment whether you should do it. Since they asked you to prove it, all was okay. Now go play, I have some more to talk about with miss Hopps." I said from a kneeling position.

"Okay." Ella chirped at me before darting to the downed rabbits to help them stand back up.

Before I knew it, both Judy's parents, Nick's mother, and their eldest children were surrounding me, all with expressions that said, 'holy shit.'

"Miss Wilde, how nice to see you a-" I caught my sentence short due to realizing _we_ had never met, only I had met her.

"As is you, Mister Crawford. Nicholas has told me much about you, and your skills of deception." Alice Wilde replied with a kind paw to hand shake. For the next few hours, I was entangled with conversation about Ella, and how I came to being her father, most of which I needed to say 'it's complicated'; Judy, and her respective family seemed more than politely upset at my lack of explaining, meanwhile, the Wilde family was quite content with my answers, probably knowing that ignorance was for the best when it came to my daughter. It seemed that everyone liked Ella, and Ella liked everyone, which was good considering her homeschooling; She already passed the Daurilian General Education Development test, or G.E.D. for short, however, she still wanted to learn far more in the fields of martial arts and music, quite an odd pairing. When the time came about for our departure, Ella was quite reluctant to leave her newly found friends.

"Oh, Judy; Since I don't really have a phone, what's the date?" I asked just after catching the closing door to her apartment.

"Oh-umm. It's one-thirty in the afternoon, annnnd the date is April eleventh, twenty eighteen." She replied.

"kay, thanks." I said while shutting the door. " _Good, I still have one day before my birthday."_ I thought while hoisting the ball of white fur on my shoulders. We began our journey across Savannah Central in the direction of Jacqueline's apartment, a place I hadn't been to since we escaped the YSG base a few weeks ago; I really didn't even bother to contact Jacqueline since then because of my desire to spend time with Ella.

As usual, along the stroll to her house, we found many pairs of eyes scrutinizing us walk down the street. As per usual, they were promptly ignored. When we reached the apartment building, and stepped into the elevator, there was a Cheetah standing in the corner busily tapping on her phone; I never understood the point of constantly playing with those silly things, there was so much information to observe in the real world.

It took a few seconds after pressing the button for the desired floor, but the doors did close eventually. At that point, I guess the Cheetah assumed it advantageous to glance in our direction. "Elliot!?" The Cheetah shouted in surprise.

"Uhh, yes?" I replied with a lifted eyebrow as I pulled my head away from the seven foot Mammal.

"Jacqueline's gone crazy since you dropped her off. She thinks you were captured again!"

" _Ohh, this must be that cheetah roommate._ Technically, this little bundle of fur did capture me." I chirped while petting Ella's ears.

"Umm, Elliot." Kate whispered while leaning in close. "You do know she's just a kit, right?"

"Geez, you think me so stupid as to not know the age of my own daughter." I answered with faux indignance.

"D-daughter?"

"Adopted, before you get any other repulsive ideas." I griped. "I'm actually here to see Jacqueline, is she here?" I asked once the doors to the elevator opened.

"Is she here?" Kate mocked. "Jacqueline refuses to stop looking for you, she even has one of those bulletin boards with lines all over the place."

"Yeesh." I replied as the three of us moseyed down the red carpeted halls of the apartment complex. Shortly after my statement, Ella started moving about on my shoulders, and before I realized what was happening, she leapt onto Kate's shoulders with grace. "Ella! You get off her this instant." I ordered while pointing to the ground. With a look of regret, the small Arctic fox dropped off Kate's shoulders.

" _What's gotten into you today?"_ I asked in English as not to let Kate onto our conversation.

" _I dunno, I just really want to go fight someone else. Not like fight fight, just play fighting."_ Ella responded while looking at the ground and twiddling her paws.

" _If you want, I can see if Nick will take you to the police station, I'm sure there's some other Mammals that would love to spar with you."_

"Really!? Ella squealed with joy.

"Only if you behave yourself." I said with a held up finger, to which Ella nodded her head furiously. "Kate, would you mind not telling Jacqueline I'm here, I want it to be a surprise."

"Ha, make sure she really gets surprised." Kate replied while inserting her key into one of the many deadbolts around the door frame.

When Kate swung open the door, I noticed Rhea on the couch in her Camo pajamas. "Shh." I whispered the moment the sandstone colored Lycalopex Culpaeus laid eyes on me. Ella took notice of the Vixen unceremoniously plopped on the couch, quickly darting next to her on all fours.

"My daddy's going to scare the kitty cat." Ella whispered in a giggly tone, causing Rhea to nod a few times, followed by snapping her head over to me with widened eyes.

" _She's your daughter!?"_ Rhea mouthed with fascination.

I nodded while quietly walking in the direction of Jacqueline's dark green themed room. Upon reaching her door, I tapped a few times on the wooden barrier. "Go away, I'm busy." Jacqueline grumbled in response.

 **Tap tap tap tap**

This time I heard the sound of a chair squeaking, followed by the door being swung open. Before Jacqueline had a chance to say anything or see it was me, I pulled a black bag over her head, and took her down with a Judo hip throw, which put her on the ground inside the room. Before Jacqueline had a chance to fight back, I took the mount position, and trapped both of her paws above her head with one of my far more deft hands.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" Jacqueline shouted while wildly thrashing to get away. My response was laying an ear up to her chest to listen for her heart beat, which was easily a hundred BPM.

"I'm the payback monster." I replied just before pulling off the blindfold; Her face was one of complete terror, and it made me smirk inside.

* * *

-=Jacqueline pov=-

"Dammit… I wish I could be mad at you, but I missed you so much... and I deserved that." I replied while looking up into Elliot's blue eyes, simultaneously letting my body go limp against his actions.

"Yes, yes you did." He replied as he let go of my arms, which I wrapped around Elliot's back so he would be pressed up to my chest.

"I'm sorry I didn't call; I was spending time with my daughter." He replied while scratching my ears; How Elliot could make such a simple action feel so _amazing_ was beyond me. The only thing that kept me from purring into his ears was the mention of Elliot's daughter; He didn't have a daughter, the only thing he told me about was the computer simulation, which would easily convince him that the Arctic fox was a real Mammal from my limited experience using it.

I could tell he was happy to see Ella again, and I really didn't want to push my luck, but _Ella wasn't real._ "Oh… You told me she wasn't real, just a computer program." I said with faux ignorance. His look of happiness almost instantly changed to a forlorn sulk, and he simply sighed and rested his forehead on my clavicle for a good minute or two.

"I know." Elliot mumbled with sadness. "I just don't want to let her go, and when she plopped into my lap. . . I can't help it, Jacqueline; She's my daughter, computer program or not."

"I know Ella makes you happy, and I don't mind her; I'm just worried what she is and who made her a real body." I replied while petting his short cut, dark brown hair.

"I already know what she is." Elliot replied in the same sad mumble. "The way to transfer the program is to put them in an organic computer… A synthetic brain. She won't even know the difference, and the L.S.B.D-"

"What's that?" I interjected.

"Life Simulating Bio-droid. They were the first successful clones. They grow, feel, bleed. It's nearly impossible to tell the difference between a real person and one of the L.S.B.D's."

"So… Do you know who made her?" I asked.

"No." He replied quietly. "I don't really want to find out as long as Ella's in my arms… I don't care if she's a computer; The only thing that matters to me is that she's my daughter and I love her." Elliot said with genuine compassion.

"I'm a c-computer?" Ella asked in a horrified and almost mute tone while standing in the door frame.

* * *

 **A/N: lemme know about any typos.**

 **Thanks to all of those who have supported the story in one way or another, it means a lot to me. (Seriously, it really does)**


	15. Chapter 15: A Timeline In Shambles

Chapter Fifteen: A timeline in shambles

 _There is a fine line between machines serving us, and us serving machines. Once that line has been crossed, we better pray we were kind to our creations._

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

The moment I heard that angel of a voice ask me if she was a computer, I felt as if my stomach was replaced by a black hole. I whipped my head around while dismounting from Jacqueline's stomach so I could stare into Ella's slitted eyes; There was no worming out of this.

"Y-Yes… You're a computer program." I whispered with anxiety on how Ella would react. Would she run away, shoot me out of anger, break down and cry? Millions of scenarios ran through my head as I waited on my daughter's reaction.

"This… is… AWESOME!" She squealed. "I'm a robot, OOH, this is _sooo_ cool!" That was not answer I expected.

Before I had a chance to blink, Ella was walking around as she made the sound of a servo actuating with each ligament movement. "This is good… Right?" Jacqueline asked once she sat up next to me.

"No… She just doesn't realize what the implications are yet. When that happens, I might lose her." I replied with tears welling in my eyes. Ella would grow up knowing that she wasn't a real fox, and although she would eventually come to know the insignificance of being a biological computer, right now she was just a child.

"What are we going to do?" Jacqueline asked while leaning up against my shoulder.

"Well, I'll tell her everything I kn-wait... You said _we_."

"I did say that, didn't I." Jacqueline answered with a smug smile.

I was going to go retrieve Ella from the living room, although a split second before I left the room, I noticed a small light distortion out of the corner of my eye. Sure enough, there was a sphere of distorted light in the corner of Jacqueline's room. "You need to get out of here." I said authoritatively without my gaze leaving the sphere becoming more and more predominant by the second.

Jacqueline took one look in the direction of what I was observing, then darted out of the room to warn everyone else. Meanwhile, I closed the door and locked it in an attempt to trap whatever was coming in the room with me. What seemed like the second the door was locked, the distorted light donned a blue haze, followed by a bright flash of light, completely blinding me. Once my vision readjusted, I saw the shape of a white Fox kneeling on slightly singed carpet, bits of smoke coming off its fur as well. Without a word, the Mammal stood up and looked into my eyes.

" _The hell, slitted eyes."_ I thought while looking into the slightly shorter Arctic Vixens amber eyes.

"Who are you, and how did you develop Void Space travel?" I demanded while drawing my pistol. Unlike every single gun wielding person in a movie, I made sure to keep the weapon outside the vixens reach.

"Hello Father… Man, that sounded way cooler in my head." The vixen mumbled to herself.

"Turn around, get on your knees with your ankles crossed and fingers interlaced." I ordered.

"* _Sigh*_ I really thought you would be more knowledgeable on how to travel through time, Dad." The vixen said as she complied to my demands.

"Quit the bullshit. Who are you?" I replied as I kept my pistol trained onto the Fox's upper back.

"Ella Pearl Lorenza. Made August nineteenth, thirty-three twenty-six. Species, L.S.B.D. You just inadvertently told me what I really am."

Taken aback didn't really begin to describe what I just heard. I knew time manipulation was quite possible through going near light speed, or being around an immense gravity well, such as a black hole. But full fledged time travel was only accomplished by the Scout of the Galaxy to my knowledge.

"What's the password?" I asked, receiving a small giggle from the vixen.

"Only in the void can you see the true colors of the universe. You only made me rehearse it like, a thousand times." She replied happily.

"How old are you?" I asked.

"Right now, I'm eleven years of age, walking around making robot sounds. But I suppose you're referring to _me_. I'm a hundred and sixty-five."

"Bull, you don't look over twenty."

"Before I answer that, I don't remember if you figured out who made me yet. Did you?"

"No." I replied, still not entirely convinced that the Fox kneeling in front of me was in fact Ella.

"Well, the… b _eing_ responsible, made me last hundreds of years, as you will find out when you test my blood. You'll find regenerative Telomeres; Alex and I were the first successful D.D.N.A.M mark one's. Congratulations, Dad, your daughter… is immortal." She said with a soft kindness.

"Shit." I whispered while holding my wrist up to my mouth, the same hand holding my pistol. "You can stand up." I added. The Vixen simply turned around, and started hugging me, simultaneously washing my neck with her tongue.

"I've missed you, Dad. You died so long ago that I started to forget what you looked like." She murmured while pushing the top of her head into the crook of my neck.

"How did you time travel? No, never mind, I don't need to know; I need to know why you're here?" I asked while performing several actions that Ella was accustomed to, one of which was scratching under her chin; This elicited a high to low pitched whine from the Mid-twenties Vixen, something that resembled Ella to the letter.

"You need to kill me." She replied simply. "I… I have done unforgivable actions, and now that I can see what I have done, I know you must kill me."

"W-What did you do?" I asked with a not so quiet gulp.

"I killed Humanity… they were at war with the Thargoids again, except this time it was out of hate. Your people were trying to kill everything and everyone that wasn't human."

"Y-you killed us all?" I asked, my heart rate now rising exponentially.

"Oh course not! How could you think your own daughter would do something like that." She squawked with a slap to my shoulder.

"You just popped into my timeline, claiming you committed genocide, you think I wasn't supposed to take it seriously!?" I replied indignantly.

"Ugh… I came here to talk to you about what I should do. The being that created me has taken control of the entire galaxy."

"Is he or she doing a bad job?" I asked.

"Well… no."

"Then why are you here silly. If they aren't tyrannical, and all is well, what's the problem?"

"It wants me to bring you back… to my timeline."

 **Click**

Just like that, I found a strange looking pistol up to the side of my head. "I'm really sorry, Dad. I just miss you, and so does the one in charge. I promise to take care of you forever and ever, because I love you." Ella said with a lick to my no longer happy face.

"You surely realize you will change the moment we leave. By the time we get to your time, the world will be unrecognizable." I said as Ella backed away from my body.

"But that's just it!" Ella chirped with happiness as she raised a finger. "The one that made me is going to make a copy of you so no one notices the difference. Then we can take care of you forever." Ella explained with happiness.

I simply looked into my Daughter's eyes with sadness… sadness for what I must do to protect my family. "I understand, Pumpkin… You love and miss me. Because of that, I suppose it fit to tell you I love you no matter what you do." I cooed while caressing her fur covered cheek. Not a second later, I deflected her weapon away from my body, and hip threw her onto the floor. In the process, I'd claimed her weapon, aiming it at her head moments later.

"I'm sorry." I said through free flowing tears as I looked away from my future daughter.

 **Bang!**

* * *

-=Jacqueline Pov=-

The sound that rang from my room caused both Ella and Rhea to draw guns, aiming in the direction of the hallway. All was quiet after that distinct sound... at least for awhile. I began hearing what sounded like whimpers, and shortly after, Elliot shuffled out of my room, his eyes glossy, and blood/brain matter splattered all over his pants. He took one look at me before letting the gun clutched in his hands fall to the floor.

"I-I killed my baby." He said in a horrified tone. Moments later, he fell in the hallway as a curled up ball of blood, tears, and wailing. I was still stuck on the 'I killed my baby' part, and I hadn't even thought of comforting him until Rhea hissed at me to do so.

All three of us darted in the direction of Elliot for one reason or another; I sat down, putting Elliot's head in my lap as I gently stroked his head. "It'll be okay." I cooed into his ears over and over. Meanwhile, Rhea and Kate inched past us and peaked into the room; Kate instantly covered her mouth and ran for the bathroom, however, Rhea only popped her head back and forth from the room, to Ella and back again.

For the next… at least an hour; I wasn't really paying attention. For the next hour or so, I petted Elliot's head, and Ella curled up against his stomach in attempts to ease whatever my Human did. By the time his crying started to subside, it was almost dark outside, and I expected him to fall asleep right on the floor considering how much energy he put into crying.

"E-Ella." He whispered in a hoarse voice.

"Yes, Daddy?" She replied softly.

"I don't want you _ever_ time traveling. Do you hear me, _NEVER."_ Elliot said in a tone I had yet to hear come from him; Boy was it a terrifying timbre.

"I-I understand. Never time travel." She replied with a nervous nod.

Next thing I knew it, I felt the chill of night air wafting through my ears, and the general atmosphere of city nightlife. We were just outside my apartment, Elliot had Ella atop his shoulders, a smile on Elliot's face. Kate, and Rhea were laughing about something, and I was wearing a gray sweatsuit. I could also tell from their hysterical demeanor that both were intoxicated."What the hell?" I mumbled.

"What was that?" Elliot asked as he turned to face me, a smile still plastered across his face.

"You… We… The gunshot…"

"Uhh, are you okay, Jacqueline?" He asked with slight worry.

"No… You were crying… and the light distortion… and-and-and… What just happened?" I asked myself.

"You definitely had _way_ too much to drink." Elliot said as he hugged me from behind; Ella immediately started groping around my head with her little paws.

"NO! Something happened, and you-you shot someone!" I shouted while escaping his light hug.

"Well, technically I've shot many people, but not recently… I think you need some water." Elliot said as he unfastened a daypack from his shoulders.

"No, we were in my apartment, and you surprised me, and then Ella found out she was a computer, and there was a light distortion in the corner, and-and, you started crying, and then you told Ella not to time travel…" I said frantically, which earned four quizzical and doubting looks from my friends. What was happening to me? I'm sure I heard Elliot shoot someone, and I'm sure he cried; yet here I am, outside my apartment without a clue how I got here, let alone how Rhea and Kate got drunk.

"Jacqueline, that's most definitely not what happened. After I explained a little bit of what Ella is, you Invited me to go to a-uhh… I think it's called a rave?" Elliot said with doubt; That did sound like something I would do to be fair.

"Then how did Ella get in?" I asked with crossed arms. There was no way a place I would take Elliot would allow anyone under the age of twenty-one in.

"Duh." Ella chirped moments before she turned invisible.

Before I had a chance to respond, Kate started talking in a loopy tone. "Whoa. E-Elliot, y-your hat disappeared." She said just before bursting into laughter again.

"I need to walk around for a bit." I huffed as I started walking down the sidewalk.

"Jacqueline, wait. Lemme get them to the apartment, and then I'll come with you… If you want, that is; And if not, take this." He said while holding out his silenced, and red dot equipped pistol.

"OOOOh, silencer." I said while snatching the gun.

"It's a suppressor, not a silencer. WOW, watch where you're pointing it!" Elliot shrieked while pushing the part where the bullets come out of away from his face.

"Maybe you should take it back."

"Yeeeaaaahhh. B.R.B, m'kay?" Elliot said as he back-stepped towards the apartment building.

"I'll be here." I replied upon sitting at a bench.

It took Elliot almost fifteen minutes to come back, and in that time I still couldn't figure out why his story didn't match mine, or why I teleported outside the building. I was hoping Elliot would be able to clear up my questions. When the main entrance opened, I found Elliot walking out with his gun aimed at my head.

"E-Elliot?" I asked with fear, and a racing heart. "This is another joke, right?" He didn't bother responding for what seemed like an eternity, only looking at me with the same glare I'd seen when he looked at Zofia.

"How long ago?" He demanded quietly, a completely emotionless and focused expression covering his furless face.

"What?" I asked with ignorance.

"How long ago was the light distortion in your world?"

"What!? I-I-I dunno, a few hours." I replied in a panic. How could he not know about what happened.

"What happened afterwards? You said something about a gunshot and me crying?" He asked in the same, cold, emotionless tone.

"Y-You're really scaring me, Elliot." I whimpered with a tucked tail and splayed ears. Even though I attempted to keep myself from doing so, I ended up scrunching smaller and smaller on the bench out of fearful instinct.

"Just answer my questions and you'll have nothing to worry about." He replied in a reassuring tone.

"O-okay. After you tackled me, you saw-" I began to give a detailed report of what happened all the way up to when we popped outside. I tried my best to fill him in what I didn't actually see, as I only heard some conversation from the living room. "-and then I just teleported out here with you."

Elliot was completely tensed right up until I finished telling what happened; The moment I finished, he lowered his gun and sat down next to me. "Sorry for threatening you, it's just that when someone experiences something such as yourself, there could be… repercussions."

"First. WHAT HAPPENED!?" I screaked.

"You experienced a timeline break-off; A split from the original time-line due to certain actions. It would seem that my daughter came back in time and I killed her, then told the daughter from right now to never do that, effectively erasing the future Ella came from. Because She never grew up to come back in time, everything past the Light distortion never happened for me. What I don't understand is why a time loop wasn't created; Telling Ella not to time travel was a direct result of her doing just that. Without her to go back in time for me to kill, I would have no incentive to tell her… Time loop. "

"Uhhhhhhhhhhh… I'm not even going to try that one. But why can I remember it? Shouldn't I be, like, erased just like you were?"

"No. You were the one hearing exactly what caused the change."

"That doesn't make any sense; Just because I heard you say 'don't time travel' why would that make me remember?" I asked with slightly less confusion than before.

"Do I look like Zofia to you? I have no idea why things are the way they are. I just know that's the way it is."

"But you're like, super old and wise and stuff."

"And you're about to get kissed right on the face." Elliot said while leaning closer.

"We never did that." I said while holding a finger up to his lips.

"Oh, well we did here." Elliot replied with red cheeks as he pulled away from me. He sorta attempted to avoid my gaze as he added onto his statement. "We should go inside, I'm not sure if Ella can keep them in check for this long without getting violent."

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

That was some interesting information I just heard. I'd consciously changed the timeline, but for what reason still plagued my mind. I wouldn't have done it to simply avoid killing Ella; No, it would have to be much much more important for me to do something like that. When we reached the entrance to Jacqueline's apartment building, I opened the door for my feline friend. The second we entered the elevator, Jacqueline pushed me against the wall, pulling me into a heart-stopping kiss, and effectively halting my gaze evasion.

"I thought we didn't kiss?" I asked with a few labored breaths once she pulled away.

"But you did, and I would have if Elliot let me." Jacqueline replied in the same breathy tone.

"Well, as of right now, I am your Elliot, the time split would've caught up by now." I corrected while wrapping my arms around Jacqueline's lower back to pull her close.

"I don't mind." She lazily whispered while resting her head on on my chest. I responded with a peck to the top of her head.

When the elevator swung open, Jacqueline refused to let me go, even with her apartment only being a few meters down the hall. After managing to walk to her door via Jacqueline standing on my feet as I walked, I plopped down on the couch with her in my arms. Ella was fast asleep on the couch chair in the far corner, and the two drunk Mammals were nowhere to be seen. I was tired myself, probably from Rhea, Kate, and Jacqueline all trying to drink me under the table. I couldn't understand the point of getting drunk; All it accomplished was headaches in the morning, and crap sensory perception the night of.

"You still awake?" I whispered into one of the Snow Leopards ears, causing a twitch. " _Guess not."_ I thought while slowly lifting Jacqueline into a bridal carry. Ever so quietly, I walked into her room and laid the cat on her bed. "Kalinýchta chnoudotó gatáki mou." _Goodnight my fluffy kitten._ I whispered with a kiss to her cheek.

I quietly walked to the door of her room and shut off the light, and after shuffling to the couch, I sprawled out on it's faux white leather. The moment, and I meant the absolute _instant_ my eyes shut in the dark room, I was pounced upon by a small creature.

"Daddy." Ella whispered with her muzzle next to my ear.

"Yes, Darling?" I answered in a mumble.

"Can you tell me more about what I am?" Ella asked as I felt her fluffy tail wag on my legs.

" _Yes. Your body is made of an organic compound that simulates flesh, bone, and everything in between almost perfectly. Your mind is an organic computer that mimics all senses just like a real mind would, but you have no soul."_ How would that sound? Would it devastate the little giggly kit hugging me? I couldn't risk it.

"Ella… I need you to know that one day I will tell you everything, but today is not that day." I said into one of her pointy ears.

"Aww… When?" She asked.

"How about when you turn sixteen?"

"But it's _Sooooo_ far away." She whined.

"Ella, I know this is for the best. You might not think so now, but when the time comes for me to tell you, you'll wish I hadn't." I grimly proclaimed. From the glowing city outside, I could only see shapes of Ella hovering over my face with both intrigue and concern.

"First thing when I'm sixteen, you have to pinky promise." Ella demanded.

"Pinky promise." I copied while wrapping our two digits together.

As the years passed one by one, relationships formed amongst my friends. Ella was growing into a fine young Vixen, freelancing as private security for high profile individuals. She made quite an impact in keeping those around her safe, only at the age of fifteen no less. Rhea was unfortunately shot in the line of duty, paralyzed from the waist down. That didn't stop me from healing her with a rudimentary R.S.K I synthesized. She was grateful, although I refused any offerings she gave to me, only saying that she would pay it forward when I needed her.

Kate finished her medical school, and was currently saving Mammals lives with ' _leading medical techniques'_ as she called them. I finally found a quite enjoyable job of beating people up for a living; I was an independent combat instructor for the ZPD whenever they needed my services. Chief Bogo must've really liked my teaching results, as one day he offered me triple the normal pay to be a full time employee of the police department. Money wasn't an object of interest for me, as I'd already experienced it's curse when I found out to be the sole heir to my friends will, almost twenty years ago.

That finally brings me to the current love of my life, Jacqueline. We'd moved out of her apartment shortly after I returned due to Ella being in my life; Alex still held up the offer to give up one of his picturesque two story houses, this time we accepted his gracious offer. He simply vanished into the wind shortly after, leaving me a note that said. 'Brothers not by blood, but by heart. _If you ever need me, I'll be there.'_

Despite my searching, I never found a trace of my cyborganic friend. He left me the YF-185 with another note shortly after vanishing. 'May these wings carry you on many adventures through life, and may its shield and spear protect you from harm.'

With my job as a trainer, I was able to return all the gifts of kindness to those around me in one way or another; For Rhea, I built a Hummingbird sized drone to help her in the field. For Kate, I gave her the means to cure what I would consider an insignificant disease, Cancer. Saving the best for the last, I gave Jacqueline two gifts… well, one I haven't given her quite yet. The first was a car, but not just any car; I made her a vehicle like no other, unmatched by anything created by Daurilia. Capable of reaching speeds over the sound barrier, and able withstanding anything short of an anti tank munition, she would be both protected from danger, and able to outrun anything the car could not defeat with it's plasma weaponry.

That brings me to the last two individuals. I know I said Jacqueline was the last one, but I almost forgot the first in my adventures across the galaxy; Nick and Judy Wilde. They were the first to be met in my grand adventure, for that, I granted them three wishes, also the fact they'd just gotten married. Unlike most, the duo spent time thinking on what they wanted. I have yet to hear the other two wishes from them, but the first was almost due to being born… Violet was her name, and a hybrid was her game; I did my best to alter the Rabbit and Fox DNA to make something that didn't look like a freak of nature, but it really came down to chance on the finer details.

Today was a morning of dread for me. The sun beamed throughout our room with kindness, and the sound of sprinklers were running outside. Laying beside me was the love of my life, and she took notice to my staring pretty quickly.

"If you're going to keep looking at me like that, I might just have to come over there."

"I just might do it for you." I replied while rolling onto the fluffy spotted feline, looking down into her cobalt eyes of mystery.

"Well, then you won't be needing these." Jacqueline said while reaching down to my underwear.

"Not today." I whispered, earning a most displeased glare from the feline.

"Then when. I don't want to say you're taking too long, but Elliot; It's been five years, I'm practically dying."

"I'll think about it…. It's just today's Ella's birthday." I groaned.

"Oh my gosh, I forgot all about that."

"I didn't, and I know she wouldn't have." I replied as I rolled off my girlfriend. I began wandering around our room in searches for a few items I would need to tell Ella.

"Do you know where I stored my armor?" I asked while looking on the top shelves of our closet.

"Oh please. If Ella hasn't shot you yet, I don't think today will change her mind." Jacqueline replied as she wrapped her slender arms around my stomach.

"You're right-"

"Of course I am." Jacqueline blurted before I had a chance to finish my sentence.

"-I'll just make sure no weapons are in around." I added while turning around to face Jacqueline. "You certainly like to be without clothing." I said while attempting not to stare.

"Only for you... even if you won't have sex with me." Jacqueline grumbled while searching for her clothing.

"I really don't want to start this up again. You know my chemical production is faulty, just be happy that the synthesized version keeps me mentally stable. Besides, I'm still working on a fix for that too." I replied while putting on my shirt.

Jacqueline splayed her ears slightly before responding. "I know… I just really _really_ want you."

"One day chnoudotó gatáki mou, one day." I replied.

By the time Ella awoke, I'd already made the three of us breakfast, and Jacqueline was almost done with her food. We decided that Ella would have the conversation without Jacqueline present so that she wouldn't have the same burden I held.

"Morning." Ella uttered with a large yawn, allowing me to toss a blueberry into her mouth. At first she snapped her mouth shut, and stared at me wide eyed, but once the flavor hit, she relaxed. "That was unnecessary." Ella deadpanned while sitting at the dining table.

"So, are you ready to know?" I asked upon sitting with my breakfast of home grown synthetic meat, not that anyone outside our family knew.

"know what?" Ella replied as she ate her breakfast.

"What you really are." I informed, causing Ella to stop mid fork-to-mouth movement.

"I… I don't want to know." She chirped before shoving the meat into her mouth "OOOH, what kind is it today?"

"It's-uhhh… Rabbit. Are you sure you don't want to know?" I asked in attempts to quell my utter shock.

"Yup. You told me that I would never be the same afterwards, so what do you think I did?" Ella asked with a half lidded smirk.

"You found out already." I grumbled.

"Nope." She chirped. "I let it go, just like you said to… Geez, you take me for such a hooligan."

"I wonder why." I chucked in response. My daughter had a certain way of getting into trouble, nothing of which she couldn't escape from with ease; Be it Tod's or her job, Ella always ended up fighting or talking her way out of something.

"So, what are we going to do for my birthday since you obviously blew that present." Ella asked with the same smirk plastered across her pure white face.

"I really thought that was going to take up the whole day… You want to go fly the jet?" I asked, causing Ella to choke on her food.

"SERIOUSLY!? I GET TO FLY IT!" She squealed upon clearing her windpipes.

"Sure, once we're done eating, I'll go find our suits, and I can take you around the world a few times." Not a second after confirming my previous statement, the sixteen year old vixen began shoveling her synthetic meat.

"DONE!" She yelled about twenty seconds later. "You have fifteen minutes! Oh my friends are going to be so jealous… if I could tell them." Ella said to herself while darting up the stairs to her room.

"Uhhhh. This is going to be a long day." I whined before shoveling what was on the plate into my mouth. By the time I was dressed in my long abandoned G-suit and flight helmet, Ella was already at the front door.

"Hurry up!" Ella shouted the moment she laid eyes on me at the top of the stairs.

"Yuh-know, I am getting rather old." I replied.

"Yeah, sure."

"Have you forgotten stress aging my dear? Where do you think these gray hairs are coming from." I asked upon reaching the front door.

Ella's facial expression instantly changed to one of regret before replying."I forgot." She mumbled.

"It doesn't mean that I still can't outperform my _professional bodyguard."_ I teased while throwing a few halfhearted punched into Ella's non-Newtonian armor.

"Daaaad." She whined.

"Chill out, I have to get my jokes in while you're still living with me."

"I'm only sixteen, Dad." Ella responded as we stood out in the driveway, seemingly for no apparent reason. Most of the neighbors were predators, and were far more reasonable when it came to the strange happenings I caused; Such as the gale force winds being blown onto the street, seemingly from nowhere. Once the wind died down, the YF-185 stealth aerospace fighter disabled it's Q.R.F and sound dampening modules.

"You're right, my bad. My sixteen year old daughter is making more money than me, and she expects me not to be worried about her moving out." I said as we walked to the cockpit ladder.

"SHIT, Mister Crawford! Where'd you have time to make that?" One of my neighbors giddily inquired as she ran to the closest spot on the sidewalk within our cul-de-sac.

"Well, Miss Alan. I've had this for quite some time now." I replied as Ella climbed up into the pilot's seat. "Nuh-uh, copilot, Ella." I chastened before returning my gaze to the gray wolf.

"You guy's going somewhere?" She asked.

"I'm just teaching Ella how to fly. Few short trips around the planet should do it."

"HI MISS ALAN!" Rhea shouted from her seat while fastening the flight helmet.

"Wow." She said with simple awe. By the way she was looking at the jet, it was quite obvious she wanted to go for a ride.

"Now, now. We've been neighbors for quite sometime; If you want to go for a ride, you can ask. This is no different than my car." I said, which received a wagging tail and the most exuberant smile I've seen in awhile.

"This is _way_ different than a car. It's a freaking jet."

"I don't see the difference, they both use fusion to power them… anyway, you should probably clear out. If we get back before dark, come by and I'll take you for a spin." I said casually while turning to the ladder. Before I had a chance to react, Miss Alan pulled me into a vise like hug, and kissed me on the cheek.

"THIS IS AWESOME!" She squealed before giddily scampering to her house.

"Better be careful, Dad. Mom might think you're having an affair." Ella joked as I climbed the ladder.

"Very funny."

Once we lifted into the air, my jet went completely silent and it vanished into an almost transparent outline. After flying the aircraft a few miles off the coast for the reason of gaining speed and not being close to other aircraft, I handed the stick over to Ella.

"Alright Ella, The joystick on your right is the yoke, the lever on your left is the throttle, at your feet you will find two paddles; That's the rudder control… Have fun." I said while letting go of the controls.

"WHAT!" Ella squawked moments before the jet started jolting in every which way; Up, down, rolls to the left and right, rudder jolts, all in an attempts to keep the plane stable. Ella was quite inept to this, although I thought it advantageous to throw her in the deep end. "DaAad." Ella said with a shaky voice after about a minute.

"Yes, Darling?"

"C-can you take the controls now… I don't like flying so much?" Ella asked in a pleading whimper.

I was surprised at this: My daughter that wanted to fly since I adopted her was saying she wanted nothing to do with it. "Okay, I got the stick." I said while switching the aircraft to automated 'follow the horizon' flight mode. I then unhooked my flight harness and turned to face my daughter, who happened to be visibly shaking. "Ella, what's wrong?" I asked with worry.

"I-I don't think I can do this." She said while attempting to remain strong in front of me.

"I'm sure you can, all it takes is practice." I said with benevolence.

"Can-can I just come up there for a minute?" Ella asked hesitantly.

"With me?" I inquired with bemusement.

"Mmhhmm."

"Uhh… sure." I confirmed. It'd been almost four years since Ella gave me a hug, let alone ask to come into the front seat with me. The once nine pound kit now weighed almost twenty pound, not a terribly heavy creature, but still enough to feel her front paws hit my thighs when she bounded over the divider. Ella immediately turned around and started hugging my neck. "Are you okay?" I asked while returning the hug.

"I'm just nervous." She shakily answered.

"My daughter is nervous." I replied with astonishment while scratching her unhelmeted ears.

"Daaaad." Ella whined while batting my hand away from her ears. "That's weird now."

"Oh." I replied as I let my arm go limp. "Then why is sitting my lap not weird?"

"It kinda is." She said with splayed ears.

"You, my darling, have learned nothing about me when it comes to affection." I stated with a boop to Ella's wet nose.

"I knnnnoooww. You don't think something like scratching my ears is anything more than comforting me."

"So, you have been listening."

"Duh. I just don't think like that anymore."

"… I know, my baby's all grown up… well, except when she wants to fly a jet."

"DAAAAAD."

We continued our banter as the jet flew itself further and further off the coast at just under the speed of sound, and Ella eventually wanted to give it another try, except with my limbs as intermediaries between the control.

"Okay, Just pull back on the stick a little bit." I gently commanded as Ella sat in my lap. This time around, she wasn't shaky while bringing the jet into a twenty degree climb. "Now push the throttle to eight percent." Once again, Ella slowly moved the throttle lever forward until the display in front of us read eight percent.

"WARNING, Multiple radar signatures detected; Bering Three-one-zero, elevation, twenty-five hundred meters." The computer relayed into the cockpit. Without a single word from my mouth, Ella bounded over the divider into her seat, seconds later, she was strapped in and her flight helmet was attached.

"Ella, you remember our call-signs?" I asked while rapidly navigating through the holographic screen to disable the stealth field.

"Yes, Dad." Ella replied in a 'duh' tone.

"Core dynamics Sierra-Echo-Echo, please respond." Came through the radio.

" _Right, I forgot this is a registered plane now._ Sierra-Echo-Echo responding, over."

"Divert your heading to zero-three-zero, over." The pilot ordered as the jets started closing in; While they could see me on the radar due to the active wing beacon, we were still thermally invisible to the fighter pilots.

"That's a negative. Dignitary flights are not to be diverted, how copy? Over." I replied.

"We have our orders, Sir. Divert your course or be shot down. You have five seconds to comply." The pilot ordered as two jets leveled off on my wings; They appeared to be the Mammal Dynamics F-16.

"Ella, What do you think?" I asked.

"Speed up and evade." She replied without hesitation.

"Good answer. Eliminate casualties, and prevent the enemy from gaining our ship." I praised while readying to shut off the wing beacon and re-enable the Q.R.F."

"Time's up. What's it going to be?" The pilot asked.

"Sorry boys, good luck." I replied while flicking off the beacon, completely removing us from radar. The jets immediately broke off from their formation to my left and right, although they had no chance to fire anything off as we were already invisible, off the radar, and accelerating to mach six. We passed over the vast ocean until circling back to the northern coast of the supercontinent Daurilia consisted of. Along the way, I let Ella take the wheel for awhile, and she became pretty comfortable by the time we circled the globe, only two hours later. I took the controls as we passed over snow-capped jagged mountains, blistering sand deserts, and thick forests sure to confuse even the most educated explorers; From the history classes taken at a college, I was aware that most of the continent was left untouched from civilization, and most animal species still had ' _Savage_ ' counterparts living within their natural habitats. Almost all the cities were within a few hundred miles of the coast with a few outpost like towns further into the land mass.

Enjoyed didn't come anywhere near the feeling I experienced when flying the YF-185; I felt as if I could roam anywhere in the universe without worry. A strange sensation reckoning I'd actually roamed to the furthest depths of the galaxy without feeling the same way.

"That was fun." Ella chirped as I brought us into our cul-de-sac with the sound dampeners active and the stealth field deactivated.

"Not for me. Now I have to find whoever tried to capture us; It's been five years without incident, so why now?" I asked myself.

"Maybe they thought you were capture-able." Ella suggested just before the landing gear touched down. Landing was a bit of a problem due to the dual F135-PW-100's that pushed an excess of ninety-five thousand pounds of vectoring thrust; Last time I checked, homes on Daurilia weren't build to survive that. Power lines were also somewhat of a problem as the wingspan is forty-four feet, but the road is only thirty-five… do the math. With an additional eight feet in the sidewalks and ten or fifteen feet in people's front lawns, the jet could fit if it weren't for those pesky telephone poles. A VTOL landing in the center of the cul-de-sac would add the needed width for the wingspan, however it wouldn't help the sixty foot length, or the jet wash.

The solution was a complex method of pointing the rearward exhaust down the street, and hoping the vertical thrust wouldn't break anything; It didn't last time anyway.

"I suppose that could be the case." I replied as the canopy opened above us. Once again, multiple neighbors walked out into their driveways, awestruck expressions plastered across their faces due to the black, swept wing jet occupying every inch of the asphalt in the cul-de-sac.

"Good afternoon." I greeted nonchalantly upon reaching the bottom rung of the jet's retractable ladder. In one giant wave of words, almost all eight families started bombarding me with questions. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, just… one at a time." I said as Ella climbed down the ladder.

"Where'd you get it?" A very tall tiger asked.

"I built it several years ago." I replied.

"How fast can it go?" A black panther asked.

"Uhh… Mach twenty-three… I think." I answered; It was somewhere around mach twenty to twenty-five, but I wasn't positive anymore.

"But what about in miles an hour?" The same panther asked.

"Gimme a seconds. Let's see-" I started mumbling to myself. "- _The speed of sound is seven-hundred and sixty-one miles per hour at sea level; Multiply that by twenty-three, and you get_ … It has a top speed of eighteen thousand miles per hour, give or take a few hundred." I said just before remotely closing the canopy with my G-suit's holographic arm display; Once the impact resistant glass was shut, I told the YF-185 to enable its Q.R.F and sound dampeners along with sending it to my secret airbase across the continent; By secret 'airbase', I really meant a grass clearing in the middle of nowhere, but really, what's the difference, it's still secret.

"Oh, you may want to shield your eyes." I suggested while kneeling with my back facing the invisible aircraft. Sure enough, my neighbors heeded my warning and copied what I was doing until the jet wash was no more. It was a good thing my next door neighbors moved out as foxes would have been blown away without the proper fluid dynamics knowledge. "Now, as per usual, if you find any damages caused by this, I will pay for all repairs and installation fees." I said while turning towards my picket fence house.

* * *

-=Somewhere in the Scutum-Centaurus arm=-

A badly damaged, jet black, Imperial Cutter was drifting through space as a much larger, more menacing ship with all sorts of weird geometric shapes closed in. Both ships were in a battle, and while the impressive Cutter was reduced to a wreck, the unidentified ship was in pristine condition. The much larger ship pulled up to the Cutter in parallel just before a docking arm extended to the Cutter. The pilot, knowing it to be his last moments of life, prepared to detonate his robotic limbs in an attempts to kill whomever was boarding his ship.

With a hiss, the airlock opened, and what did the pilot see… an exact copy of himself standing on the other side. "The fuck." Alex mumbled while aiming at his copy.

"Hello Alex white. My name is Alex white, and to preserve the life Elliot deserves, I must replace you by order of my master." The copy stated moments before Alex fired his pistols into the copy.

"Weapons are ineffective against me as my creator has made us immortal. Do you have any last words?" The copy calmly asked while drawing an exact copy of Alex's pistols.

"Yeah, FUCK… YOU!" He shouted just before detonating the reactors in his limbs.

From the outside, a short lived fireball of immense size engulfed both vessels, yet when the vacuum of space pulled the smoke away, the doppelgangers ship was completely unharmed while Alex's ship had been vaporized. As for the doppelganger, he was simply standing at the edge of the depressurized docking coupler with a smile on his face. " _Elliot will have the life he deserves, and in a hundred years he will see all the good I have done."_ The copy thought just before walking back into his gigantic ship confined to the void of space. As the camera panned away, it revealed that the doppelgangers ship was one of hundreds… hundreds of thousands of different sized vessels all in formation. From the size of a Vulture superiority fighter to bigger than the mighty Farragut Interdictor, all ships were packed to the brim with unusual weaponry that no man would recognize.

"Set a course for Earth." Alex said into the computer, which sent the fleet into hyperspace.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Are you not entertained?**_

 _ **Criticism and other feedback is**_ ** _appreciated._**


	16. Chapter 16: Genetics

_Chapter Sixteen: Genetics_

 _Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you react to it._

* * *

Ella was already inside, explaining away how she got to fly the jet, although, she made sure to leave out the first part with her being scared. Jacqueline seemed to be genuinely interested with the vixens storytelling, so I smiled with a half-hearted salute as I headed in the direction of our basement, a place that was off limits to everyone but me. I kept the entire space encased in electromagnetically shielded titanium, although you would never know it unless you started taking apart floors and walls. The door and door-frame were also reinforced with half an inch of titanium plating and a lock just as strong to prevent intrusions. Some might say paranoia, I say precautionary measures to hide the fact I'm growing meat in a tank, building highly illegal weapons and explosives, and working on my latest project, another Genetic splicing and modification station that would hopefully be able to combine most types of dual helix DNA into a viable combination.

The room itself didn't give off that mildew smell or feel as it was completely encased in white tiles, creating more of a high tech lab ambiance; It technically was a high tech lab for Daurilian standards. The meat growing tanks were in the far corner, standing all the way to the ceiling, and almost completely filled with single types of muscle. Most would be revolted at the sight of a few-hundred pounds of meat being suspended in an off-green color fluid… I was not most people. To me it was just another thing in my work space, another project to be completed and perfected; I almost had the meat's texture down correctly, however, it still had a slight slime texture as it was chewed.

The rest of the three-hundred and sixty degree tiled compartment was filled with manufacturing equipment, weapons, ammunition, and the crown jewel dead center of the room; A ring shaped structure extending partially into the floor, allowing someone to walk through as well as extending just a few inches below the ceiling. At almost eight feet in diameter, the ring took up quite a large space, and the various diameter cables running to several holographic terminals and power reactors didn't help navigation throughout the room. I frequently switched back and forth between different projects to prevent complete boredom, partially why It's taken me almost three years to fix my body's chemical imbalance.

I didn't even tell Jacqueline for the first few years since I was restored to a normal human. I guess my standard DNA was riddled with holes, perhaps at birth, perhaps from a certain radiation leak in my first nuclear reactor. . . the world may never know.

Since my ferline partner's been complaining more frequently about my lack of ' _desire',_ I put the chemical balancing at the top of my never ending list of projects. So far, I'd been injecting an adaptive synthetic chemical to keep my body from killing itself, and while it was satisfactory for my requirements, Jacqueline didn't agree. As with each and every time I worked on my body, it was started with drawing blood and sticking it under an atomic force microscope; After a few hours spent narrowing down what was preventing my body from producing the correct chemicals, I'd constricted it to a few things.

A: It could be a lack of Androgen produced by my Leydig cells; That would cause reduced muscle density, Inability to produce biological children, and a few other things that would be more focused on a developing body, so they wouldn't affect me.

B: It could be a lack of Dopamine production. Symptoms include but are not limited to, lack of motivation, fatigue, apathetic mood or continuously changing moods, and lack of concentration.

This was all I remembered on the subject, and I was fairly certain that I didn't forget any of my medical training from the SDI program, but another opinion was always a good idea. After a minute or two of searching through my computer databases, I found the file on human anatomy, specifically on the two chemicals of interest.

" _ **Warning, graphic learning imminent."**_ Read at the very top of the page.

" _Ha, that's kinda funny."_ I thought while closing the warning page on my screen.

" _If you wake up every morning and feel like 'the thrill is gone,' you may have a dopamine deficiency._

 _Dopamine is the main brain chemical responsible for making us feel motivated. Low levels of Dopamine can manifest in some very disruptive ways. It can leave you feeling fatigued, apathetic, moody and unable to concentrate. Dopamine deficiency plays a role in many mental disorders including depression, addictions of all kinds, Parkinson's disease, ADHD, and more."_

"Okay." I mumbled warily as I continued to my other theory. That was bad enough, but what I read next seared a hole into my brain.

" _Klinefelter syndrome is a chromosomal condition that affects male physical and cognitive development. Its signs and symptoms vary among affected individuals._

 _Affected individuals typically have small testes that do not produce as much testosterone as usual. Testosterone is the hormone that directs male sexual development before birth and during puberty. A shortage of testosterone can lead to delayed or incomplete puberty, Gynecomastia, reduced facial and body hair, and infertility. Some affected individuals also have Cryptorchidism, Hypospadias, or Micropenis disorders._

 _Older children and adults with Klinefelter syndrome tend to be taller than their peers. Compared with unaffected men, adults with Klinefelter syndrome have an increased risk of developing breast cancer and a chronic inflammatory disease called systemic lupus erythematosus. Their chance of developing these disorders is similar to that of women in the general population._ _Children with Klinefelter syndrome may have learning disabilities and delayed speech\language development. They tend to be quiet, sensitive, and unassertive, but personality characteristics vary among affected individuals."_

I began almost making inaudible squeaks of horror at what a lack of just ONE chemical could cause; I knew about some of it, but those symptoms were beyond horror film level of terrifying. I didn't consider myself any of the last symptoms, but as the human brain goes, denial is a very real possibility. With the thought of my subconscious denying that I could have Klinefelter syndrome, I rationalized both deficiencies were a reasonable assumption; Fortunately, both would be easily cured with a little snippy snip of my DNA.

"Video log one-three-six-two, I'm about to inject what will hopefully cure my chemical imbalance." I said while holding up a clear vial of liquid. "This capsule is filled with a variant of the CRISPR-cpf1 and the Nanobiotics delivery system developed for hybrid offspring. It should work… or kill me." I said just before sticking container into a Jet injector. I simply put my arm under the nozzle and pressed a button on the control screen; after a countdown timer ticked down, the solution was injected into my arm under high pressure. "And the waiting game begins." I said while putting a cotton swab over the injection point.

"Hour… six. Still no noticeable difference in my Androgen or Testosterone levels." I said with a board expression into the camera as I propped up my head on my hands.

"Hour seven… All I taste is salt, constant salty flavor."

"Hour nine. I have no service down here due to the electromagnetic shielding, so-uhh... sorry. But on a brighter note, I've started sweating profusely… probably not a good thing now that I think about it." I said in realization just before gulping down some water.

"H-hour… Lots of hours.. oooh, a triangle." I said while reaching out to grab the floating triangular prism.

"Hour… * _snore*"_

"Uhhhh, what time is it?" I muttered while rubbing the crust from my eyes… CAMERA." I squealed as I shut off the video camera used to record my procedure. It appeared I'd fallen asleep right at the workstation, which was evident by drool both on my cheek and on the white table covered in beakers of mostly blue liquid.

By the time I'd retrieved a rag and wiped up my saliva, I was feeling different than normal; I didn't necessarily feel stronger or better or anything, just… _different_. I also noticed a quiet banging on the door upstairs. At first, I just dismissed it as house noise, simply preparing to draw some more blood for testing, however, when the quiet tapping gave way to a gigantic boom, I realized exactly what was happening. A few rapid navigation swipes on the holographic desktop later, I was staring at about a dozen police officers standing at the basement door, and a rhino attempting to break through with a battering ram.

"Shit-shit-shit-shit." I cursed while scampering around the room for my multipurpose rifle and its ammunition.

After the weapon warmed its thermal firing pin, I inserted the two-hundred shot, liquid munition magazine. With another glance to the security camera, I saw the Rhino had been replaced by a tiger and a lion working in sync. "Sonic disruption." I commanded to the rifle as I walked up the basement stairs. Upon reaching the top step, I turned on the LCD display mounted to the wall and brought up the same security footage. While making sure I wouldn't be in the battering ram's flight path, I waited until just before the ram impacted the door, then opened it; This caused the two holding the ram to lose all balance as they tried to recover from the inertia buildup while getting away from the large rifle pointed the them.

I simply one handed, hip fired the rifle into the officers recoiling at the sight of my weapon; A defining kaboom rang into my house, visually pushing back the closest targets, however, it wasn't like some stupid movie where the sonic weapon launched the target into the air. This was designed as a crowed control setting so I could disorient large gatherings of animals if the ZPD riot team was being overwhelmed. This time it just turned out that the ZPD was the target.

"Stun."

All at once, every Police officer covered their ears from the sonic blast, and I started firing electrical stun rounds by the droves. Before any of the officers from outside made it to the front door, every officer inside was unconscious. "Plasma." I ordered into the rifles microphone as another officer darted through the door. My finger took up the slack in the two stage electronic trigger, and I was ready to blast a hole in whomever was in my doorway.

"ELLIOT!" Nick shouted from the door frame. I couldn't really identify who was in the door as the light from outside produced a dark outline of a canine creature, but the voice reassured me.

"HOW COULD YOU BRING THEM HERE!?" I demanded without lowering my rifle.

"Elliot, I brought them here, you've been down there for three days!" Jacqueline squealed as she barged past Nick.

"What!? I've been down there for a few hours." I replied. " _I was just trying to fix my body, I injected a new DNA manipulator."_ I spoke in English as not to let Nick or any of the still conscious officers onto my condition.

" _D-Did it work?_ " Jacqueline asked with anxious hope.

" _I think so… I'm not really sure yet_."

"What the _HELL_ is going on in there!" Chief Bogo gruffly demanded as he stomped up the driveway. Before entering, I darted back to the basement door and locked it shut. On my mission to shut the basement door, I stifled a laugh at the sight of parts of the wood door splintered all over the floor, which revealed the Titanium core to be completely unharmed.

"Well… Your officers need more training first off." I said, causing Ella, who stood on the staircase leading upstairs, to start snickering at the unconscious bodies sprawled around the living room.

Bogo simply looked at me with his usual mundane disapproval and huffed. "You trained them."

"Do you expect me to make ninjas in a few weeks?" I replied sarcastically.

"Crawford, so help me if they're dead."

"Nahh, just unconscious." I said while shifting the rifle to a rest position.

"I will need that for evi-" Bogo's words were cut off by the sound of my rifle charging and glowing a blue, condensed plasma color at the muzzle.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over the sound of my badassery."

"I dislike you sometimes, Crawford." Bogo said with odium before leaving my home. Moments later, a few officers came in to help their disabled brethren. Despite all that transpired, it was like business as usual between the other officers and I,par for a few worrisome glances here and there. I helped carry the smaller police officers; Wolves, leopards, etcetera, all of which were laid out on my front lawn to recover. On my first body run, I was pleasantly surprised to only find neighbors around my house instead of the predicted media.

"Where's the hidden cameras?" I asked Nick while searching for a hiding news crew.

"Jacqueline asked us to come over discretely, she said you might be dead."

"… Something like that." I absentmindedly replied while looking in the direction of Jacqueline, who I could tell was refraining from saying something to me.

"Hey-uhh. I know this is a bad time." Nick said as I walked back into my home with him close behind. "But could I cash in one of those wishes now?"

"Sure." I replied upon plopping on the living room couch. Nick sat down next to me and sorta huddled in before he spoke again.

"Could you have someone keep Violet safe?"

"Dude… She's not even born yet." I replied with an eyebrow raised.

"I know, I know. I mean after she's born."

"Nick, I understand you want to keep your daughter safe, but I won't have someone shield her from the world; She needs to experience that the world isn't a unicorns and rainbows."

"I don't mean watch over her every second. I just mean to have someone be her friend, make sure she doesn't get hurt… I know you warned us about what could happen to her, and Judy doesn't think it'll happen. I know how bad she'll be harassed." Nick said solemnly.

"… I'll see what I can do… Is a clone unacceptable?" I asked while my mind paced through the options of growing a clone or building multiple stages of androids to replicate growth. Other than that, I knew of no one that bore another child of similar age.

"I'd rather them be natural." Nick said with revulsion.

"Says the father of a bio-engineered daughter. C'mon Afráta Alepoú, can't you smell the science?" Nick still didn't know about Ella being an L.S.B.D, and it was going to stay that was if possible; The fewer that knew, the better.

"If you can't find a normal Mammal, a clone will work… It just has to protect her."

"Very well, wish two has been used. Choose your final one wisely." I said while standing up to say hello to Jacqueline, who had been practically staring at me from the kitchen for almost five minutes; I guess that thing she wanted to say was still nagging at her.

"Thank you. I mean it." Nick said before he wandered outside. There were still some unconscious Officers laying in the grass, although most had recovered and been called away by the time I reached Jacqueline. I kid you not, the moment I opened my mouth to say something, the doorbell rang. "Now what?" I asked with irritation at the sight of Bogo standing at my door.

"On behalf of the Zootopia-"

"Skip." I speedily interrupted.

"… I need to hire you again. Three months training for the razorbacks." The buffalo stated bluntly.

"Type of training?" I asked.

"Rifle, hand to hand combat and negotiations. Even split over the three months."

"M'kay, how many officers?"

"Ten." He answered.

"Would you like the bill now, or upon training completion?" I asked in preparation to shut the door.

"You can wait, I'm sure-"

"Thirty-six thousand even."

"A-Are you sure that's right?" Bogo asked with genuine astonishment.

"Considering the damages I've caused today, I'll be taking off a month's pay. Five dollars an hour per person, twelve hours a day for sixty day. That's my appraisal, take it or leave it."

"This better not come and backfire on me for not taking normal rates." He said moments before handing me a check, which I promptly ripped into pieces.

"Payment comes after services have been rendered. I will be at the ZPD training facility in seven days from now. Good day." I said before loudly shutting the door in his face.

"How do you keep getting business with them is a mystery to me." Jacqueline awed as she padded closer.

"Well, it's because I'm the best fighter on the planet." I replied while entangling my arms around the lithe Snow Leopard.

"Is that so?" Jacqueline asked in a husky voice, a slight growl present.

"Yes, yes it is." I said moments before Jacqueline grape vined my limbs, bringing me to the eggshell carpet below. She'd telegraphed the move from a mile away, however, I knew it to only be her playing. "Oh, Humans and Raxxlans at war again." I said while halfheartedly attempting to escape Jacqueline's hold. "Oh, the bloodshed, the horrors."

"You're milking it." My captor whispered into my ear just before nibbling upon it.

"It could degrade to the truth pretty soon?" I replied with a frown.

"How so?" She asked with a tilted head.

"The jet's that tried to force me to land, that's technically all it takes for the Raxxlan accord to be void."

"You're not actually going to do that, right?" She asked.

"I haven't decided yet. Maybe a certain gatáki would be able to talk down the mighty Human Admiral?" I jested.

What I wasn't expecting was Jacqueline to whisper into my ear with a velvety tone as she moved as paw from my wrist to my waistline. "I think I could manage that."

Almost instantly, even after being in love with Jacqueline for five years, I still blushed like a strawberry. To put it simply, I just wasn't interested in what she was offering. I'd never been interested in sex over my three-hundred year lifespan, so why start now? I even took the lessons pertaining to all facets of sex and their related subjects, probably for the better considering before I took the lessons in the simulation, I didn't know the first thing about flirting… Don't judge me, I was raised as a weapon of war, birds and the bees not included with this curriculum package.

"Aww, you're blushing." Jacqueline cooed in a falsetto. "So, you said you fixed your body?" She whispered while moving her paw into my underwear.

"Y-yes. I believe my Leydig cells were defecTIVE!" I said as Jacqueline found the object she was looking for. "I don't t-think Ella would be very happy if she saw this." I shakily added with resistance to my body's enjoyment.

"Aww, C'mon. I haven't been able to feel my soft human in days." She crooned before licking my cheek. "Tasty human flesh."

"Ser-seriously, c-could you stop for a second?" I beckoned.

"I could be persuaded." Jacqueline said with a sly smile just before tickling my feet with her tail. Despite all her other actions, she was quite able to keep hold of my member.

"I need to see if my body is still broken."

"It doesn't feel broken to me." She whispered in return.

"Jaaaaacqueline… please stop?" I whined.

"Only if I can come with you. Otherwise you're not going _anywhere_." She said while pressing her menacing claws against my chest through the shirt.

I thought about it for a long while, and I really didn't want Jacqueline going into the basement. I could also tell she was having one of her frisky moments, and I really would be at her mercy without actually fighting. "You're going to wish you hadn't asked to come down there."

"I'll be the judge of that." Jacqueline chirped as she stood from my supine body.

Upon recovery from Jacqueline's play, I put in my retinal, Biometric hand scan, and the twenty digit passcode, then wood covered titanium blast door swung open. Without a word, I picked up my multipurpose rifle and padded down the white tiled stairs with Jacqueline close behind.

"Whoa." Jacqueline mumbled when she reached the bottom step.

With a small sigh, I pulled out a sterile hypodermic needle, and drew some blood. "Don't touch any of it." I said while looking at a reflection of Jacqueline getting really close to a sphere of vacuum stabilized antimatter.

"I wasn't going to touch the ball of stuff." She replied hastily.

"Well, If you did, the entire neighborhood would be open to construction renovations." I mundanely replied as I put a few drops of blood into the Atomic force microscope. I only made it past the boot sequence for the observation equipment before Jacqueline's questions started rolling out.

"What's this thing?"

"You don't want to know." I replied without looking away from the computer screen.

"You didn't even look." She replied indignantly.

I craned my head around to see the Snow Leopard standing in the center of the eight foot vertical ring. "You don't want to know, is that better now?" I snipped.

"What's your problem?" She asked with annoyance.

"You shouldn't be down here, it's not safe." I replied after focusing the Atomic scope on my Plasma.

"I'm not a kitten, Elliot. I can handle it."

"Fine, It's another New Horizon wormhole generator, compact edition. Now please leave, I didn't fix the problem, and since I haven't had the synthetic dopamine in three days, I'm getting moody."

"...Oh." Jacqueline mumbled. "All the more reason for me to stay."

"It's up to you, Gatáki." I said while preparing to synthesize another batch of CRISPR-cpf1. This time around, it only took a few minutes to identify what was wrong since I'd found the chemicals already; The Leydig cells had been repaired, however, my Dopamine levels were still sorely below the normal amount. Programming the CRISPR-cpf1 was the easy part, the waiting game was what killed me as it took hours for the RNA to be grown with the correct information. Most of the wait was spent working on the Wormhole generator, although I was forced to take a dose of synthetic Dopamine from the get-go to keep myself from getting any more moody. By the time my CRISPR-cpf1 solution was ready, we'd already gone back upstairs and eaten dinner, and Ella had already gone out with some friends for the night.

"Video log one-three-six-three. The previous batch of CRISPR-cpf1 with the Nanobiotics delivery system only cured half the problem. This vial should fix the Dopamine deficiency." I said before inserting another vial of clear liquid into the Jet injector. One _Pfff_ of fluid later and it was back to waiting for six to eight hours.

"So, now what do you do?" Jacqueline asked from across the room.

"Wait for awhile, and record what happens... I usually work on a project and report in every hour."

"That sounds boring."

"Only if you make it." I replied while grabbing tools for the Wormhole generator. The particular area I needed to work on required me to sit down or kneel, and since I'd be there for an hour or so, I went with sitting cross legged.

"What are you doing?" Jacqueline asked while resting her spotted arms on my shoulders.

"Well, to put in simple terms, I'm constructing and troubleshooting."

"So, it doesn't work?"

"Constructing would imply that." I responded while inserting a white, glowing sphere of energy with a magnetic holding tool.

"Can I help?" Jacqueline asked.

"Do you know your wrench sizes?" I asked while looking past my shoulder to see Jacqueline nodding her head. "Then sure, otherwise, I wouldn't want you getting too close to this stuff."

"Why not?"

"It emits radiation… like, a lot of radiation."

"ELLIOT!"

* * *

-=Two hours later=-

Never, EVER underestimate a Snow leopard that loves you, I'll leave it at that.

After Jacqueline calmed down, I was able to finish assembly of the ring, and was about to start a boot sequence test. All systems seemed to be in working order according to the control terminal; The power power being supplied to the ring came from the Tokamak reactor underneath the floor, although I could only use the reactor for limited times due to inducing current directly into the plasma, which requires an ever increasing current level to keep the magnetic twist active. The other option would be to use a Stellarator type reactor, which twists the Plasma inside the torus confinement chamber with an external magnetic field, allowing continuous operation. That's what I ended up using in Jacqueline's car, however, the design requires super-computing levels of power to find the correct magnetic configuration, which can be quite intricate. In the end, I went with an advanced, miniature version of the Wendelstein 18-x to power her car.

"You need to stand around the corner." I said while pointing to the stairwell.

"Why?"

"In case it explodes again."

"AGAIN!" Jacqueline squawked.

"R-Remember that earthquake a few months ago?" I asked apprehensively.

It took the feline a few seconds of deliberation, but she did eventually remember. "THAT'S WHY YOU SMELLED BURNT!"

"Y-yes." I hastily replied.

"UGH! I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"I didn't die, so what's the problem?"

"What's the problem?" Jacqueline asked calmly… never a good sign. "You have Mammals that care about you now, that's the problem! What if it were to have killed you!?"

"But it didn't."

Jacqueline simply took a few seconds to calm herself down with long breaths in and out before responding. "Elliot, do you see my point?"

"… Yes." I mumbled with a downcast expression.

"No more dangerous projects, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Ma'am." I mumbled just before shutting down the Tokamak reactor, completely stopping the boot process of the wormhole. "I-I'll be up in a minute." I muttered while putting away all the tools I'd taken out to work on the ring. Jacqueline left me to do my cleaning, and it took me about fifteen minutes or so to put everything back where it went, and shut down most of the projects I considered dangerous. The only thing I was left with by the end of my deactivation party was the synthetic meat in the corner; Almost all my projects involved radiation, and the ones that didn't use radiation used anti-matter.

Slowly but surely, I padded up the tiled steps to the living room, and shut the door behind me with a loud 'click' from the pins holding the door shut. I then spent a few minutes picking up the pieces of broken door littered all around the hallway. After throwing the pieces away, I solemnly shuffled up the steps to the second floor. At around the halfway mark, I decided it beneficial to sleep on the couch tonight… maybe for the next few days. It was late, almost eleven thirty but the time I turned off the lights, and as per usual, I couldn't see anything in front of me. The only thing keeping me from down right running into everything was the knowledge of all the furnishings around the house, that didn't stop me from bumping into them.

" _No blanket, no pillow… I screwed up this time."_ I thought while curling up into a ball on the couch to keep warm; We didn't really store extra blankets since the other occupants were both arctic animals.

As the hours ticked by with me laying in the pitch darkness while keeping track of how I felt. Just as last time around, all I tasted was salt, I was sweating profusely, and I kept hallucinating shapes. Unlike last time around, I didn't ever fall asleep. At around what I guessed to be two-thirty in the morning, I felt my sixth sense tick off, and it felt like someone was watching me for at least five minutes or so; Instead of being reasonable about it, I acted like a kid would fear the dark, and I tried to curl under the invisible blankets to hide from whatever was or was not in the darkness.

* * *

-=Ella Pov=-

Most of the time after I left to hang out with my friends was spent walking around Sahara square to see what parties we could sneak into. Long ago I figured out the only reason my 'friends' invited me to go on these excursions was for my skillset. I didn't even like to party, it was a pointless waste of energy that could be spent training… " _Wow, I sound just like my father."_ I thought with splayed ears. After we got kicked out of the third night club, I called it quits due to being the only one with a job out of the four of us. That also meant I was the only one with a car; It wasn't anything fancy, just an armored van with slightly larger tires for moderately rough terrain. I liked it because it blended in fairly well to other vehicles, and it would catch all my brass when I needed to overwatch for one of my employers; Over both the sliding doors, I'd velcroed up nets to hide my rifles silhouette. Inside the van looked like a normal van with four rows of passenger seating, although the back rests of each bench seat housed either ammunition, weapons, or equipment my dad made for me.

"So, Ella, when are you going to tell us where you make all this money?" One of my vixen friends asked.

"I'm not a liberty to discuss clientele information." I said seriously, which only earned a chuckle.

"C'mon Ella, tell us." A tan wolf by the name of Traci beckoned with a poke to my shoulder.

"It's not going to happen." I responded while pulling up to one of my friends apartment building, leaving me with the two more bearable of individuals, Shelby park and Maria Henderson, another arctic fox and a Rabbit. The moment Traci was out of view, both Shelby and Maria scurried to the front seat, Maria in Shelby's lap.

"Are you sure you don't need another helping hand? We go fired from our last job." Maria asked with her gray ears flopped back.

"Trust me, you don't want to work in my line of work." I responded as we pulled out of the parking lot.

"C'mon, we're good at lots of stuff." Shelby countered as she held onto Maria to keep her from sliding onto the floor.

"Not this kind of work."

". . . Are you a prostitute?" Maria asked nervously.

After containing my giggles, I replied. "A hooker would be jealous of the money I'm making."

"An escort for those rich Tod's then?" Shelby suggested in a much lest timid manner.

"Hell no… My dad said it wasn't a good idea to let people onto my kind of work."

"I know, she's a hit-fox." Maria said as her ears popped up, smacking Shelby in the muzzle.

"Yeah right. As if perfect pelt could ever be a hit-fox. Maybe a thief with all those lock picking skills… Are you a thief?" Shelby asked with a wondering glance.

"No, I'm not a thief." I said while absentmindedly driving. " _UGH, I wanna show you guys sooo bad."_ I said in Lunovian.

"What language was that?" Maria blurted out.

"… The language of a species my father knew." I replied.

"What's it called?" Maria asked

"I don't remember, but the Mammals are called Lunovians."

"OOOH, what do they look like?"

"Here we go again." Shelby mumbled with a sigh of boredom.

"It's classified." I responded to Shelby's relief.

"Uh-huh, surrreee. What other languages to you know?" Maria asked as she lept into my lap.

"I'm going to be learning the language of the dead if you don't get out of my lap." I harshly answered while applying the brakes due to the Rabbit in my vision. Moment's later, Maria leapt back into Shelby's lap. "Now. Eu sei inglês, Ngazi Lunovian, and I know Daurilian. Satisfied?" I asked with a mundane expression as we pulled up to a red stoplight.

"Whoa." The Rabbit responded with awe. "Where did you learn them?"

"My dad taught me."

"What didn't your dad teach you?" Shelby asked.

"How to be normal…"

"What's that mean?" Shelby Inquired with a raised brow.

". . . Forget it." I mumbled while staring at the stop light.

Not the second the light turned green, a police car turned on it's lights and pulled out behind us. As I pulled over to the side of the road, Maria was instructed to get in her own seat. "Good, at least it's fox officer." I said while relaxing at the sight of a fellow Vulpes. The first thing that crossed my mind was Uncle Nick, but I found that not to be the case… unless Nick had a sex change.

"License and registration please." The Officer asked upon reaching the window.

As I pulled out my wallet for my license, I attempted to make small talk. "Is that the new Summerfield?"

"Huh? OH, yeah." She replied giddily. "Just picked it up yesterday." She said with a glance to her sidearm.

"Ahh, the only thing I don't like about those is the heat pressed sights." I said while handing over my license.

"Why's that?" She Inquired.

"You basically need a C-clamp to move them left or right, and the special tool's like one-fifty."

"Dang, I had no idea about that."

"Yeah, you can send it in for about fifty dollars and have Summerfield sight it in. Personally, I like the LF Herstal handguns."

"You have a weapons permit?" The Officer asked with surprise.

"Look at the DL." I said while pointing a claw at the piece of plastic.

Sure enough, the Red Fox scrutinized the driver's license for a few moments before looking back at me with widened eyes. I simply held up a finger to my mouth as a 'shhh' gesture.

"C-can I ask you something?" The officer asked while handing back the license.

"Sure."

"Have you used the… ya-know."

"Many times." I responded to the dread of the officer.

"I-I see. Have a good night, Ma'am."

"You too." I chirped just before rolling up the window. As we pulled away, both Shelby and Maria were looking at me inquisitively.

"Can I see your lice-"

"Not a chance." I interrupted Shelby, whose ears splayed flat in response.

Most of the drive was spent in silence after that, and I suppose my friends were kinda worried about what my driver's license said. In my thoughts of what Shelby and Maria might be thinking about, I completely forgot they were actually in the van with me until I pulled up at my house.

"Crap, I forgot about you guys." I said while throwing the van in reverse.

"Could we just crash here?" Maria asked from Shelby's lap.

"Uhh..." On one hand, Dad was probably asleep by now, and they wouldn't even know about him. On the other, he could be working on his car or be in the basement again. Decisions, decisions; If it were five years ago, I would've said sure, come and meet my Human dad, oh he used to be one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy, and he's still practically in charge of all Humanity through his sister, who used to be his ex-wife. Nowadays, most of Daurilia decided to forget that humanity existed because they're the kind of Mammals to bury their heads in the sand instead of taking the problem head on.

Only a few knew that dad was really an alien. The police, our neighbors, and dad's therapist.

"Yeah, just wait in the garage for a few while I see if my parents are asleep yet." I said while opening the door to my van.

"Did you sneak out or something?" Shelby whispered.

"Nah, my dad just walks around in his underwear sometimes." I lied while unlocking the side garage entrance. Upon flicking the light on for Maria, who has terrible night vision, both friends mouths gaped open at the sight of my dad's fancy car.

"Whoa. You guy's must be rich!" Maria hush squealed. "This is a two point four million dollar car."

"My dad built it, but yeah, it probably costs that much." Yet again, another lie; With the technology level we're at, that car would literally be priceless just from the technology in it.

"HE BUILT IT!" Shelby blurted loudly.

"SHHHH! . . . But yeah, it was a gift to his girlfriend, but they both use it."

"Is he like, a genius?" Maria asked with ears so perky you might think they were glued up.

"Something like that. Now stay here and try not to drool on it… my dad would probably take you for a ride if you asked." I said just before darting through the door into our kitchen. "Dad!?" I squawked at the sight of my father curled up on the couch, completely drenched in his own sweat while mumbling incoherent words in English.

"Nooo, triangles, come back." He mumbled as I turned him on his back.

"Shit, what did you do now?" I asked while checking his pulse, which was very slow and faint.

"I can fix it." He replied. "Booooob teh builder."

I kept thinking about those words as I pulled out my phone to check his pupil dilation. When I hovered the light over his eyes, they didn't contract at all, simply staying as giant saucers. "I can fix it, I can fix it. . . The genetics!" I shouted.

"What did you inject?" I asked frantically, just before the door to his room opened, and Jacqueline wandered out. "WHAT DID HE DO THIS TIME!?" I shouted to Jacqueline, who jumped in surprise.

"Ella, I'm try… What happened to him!?" She yelled while darting down the steps.

* * *

-=3rd pov=-

"Uhh, do you think we should go in there? It sounds like Ella's dad overdosed on something." Maria asked with one of her long ears pressed up to the closed door.

"I dunno, Ella said we should wait until she comes back."

"Yeah, but what if it's an emergency?" Maria countered with a paw on her chin.

"The worst thing we could see is Ella's dad naked."

"I know." Maria grumbled. "Fluff it, let's go." She added while hopping up to grab the door handle.

At first, the only thing the two could see was Ella standing over the couch and a Snow leopard darting out of view. "Ella, what's going- AHH it's a Human!" Shelby squealed in surprise as she back up a few steps.

"Shit." Ella mumbled. "Don't move an inch." She commanded authoritatively just before running after the Snow Leopard.

Jacqueline had darted to the now locked basement and was vainly attempting to open the wood covered titanium door. When Ella arrived, she pushed Jacqueline out of the way and punched in a thirty-five digit passcode, which unlocked the door. Jacqueline was quite curious as how Ella knew the password, but there were far more pressing matters than a simple door code. Ella knew exactly where to go in the tiled room, and under two minutes, she held a Jet injection gun filled with dark purple liquid.

"What's that?" Jacqueline asked as Ella sprinted past her.

"R.S.K mark two. Dad's last one." Ella shouted just before reaching the couch where Elliot resided. As Ella commanded, Both Maria and Shelby hadn't moved more than a few feet. "You're going to be okay, Dad. I promise I'll take care of you forever and ever."

"NO!" Elliot grumbled while clutching the arm that possessed the Jet Injector. "This... is normal… just need water." He added before passing out.

* * *

 **A/N: If you like science, look up the Wendelstein 7-x. It was only active for a few micro seconds from what I remember, and it consumed more power than it produced, but the design is super cool.**


	17. Chapter 17: A New Story Begins

Chapter Seventeen: A New Story Begins

 _Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now._

* * *

-=Ella Pov=-

"Is it dead?" Maria asked with an anxiously twitching nose.

"IT, is my father!" I hissed in return, causing both of my friends to jump. "Mom, can you get an IV line in his arm? I need to find the right saline bag." I asked while stepping towards the basement door.

After retrieving the correct bags of fluid, I returned to the couch with a bag holder, and the three bags of water saline solution. Jacqueline had already inserted the IV line into his arm, so the only thing left was attaching the bags, and waiting until my father came to. I was relieved to see his breathing and pulse stabilizing after only a few minutes of fluid dripping into his arms.

"Ella… you are a hit fox, aren't you?" Maria asked with flopped back ears.

"… Something like that." I muttered while putting dad's R.S.K mark two canister back into it's foam filled, hard plastic case. My friends seemed to be in self deliberation as I carried out the tasks of putting the R.S.K in the basement; I was really wishing I'd remembered to take them home right now. The whole issue with them could've been avoided if I'd just remembered to take them home. As I set the Rsk on it's designated shelf, I seriously thought about grabbing a drug that would make them forget the whole night, and if they asked any questions, I could just say they got wasted. Eventually, I decided against pressing the proverbial reset button, opting to confer with JAcqueline beforehand.

When reached the basement door, I found the feline of interest sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch, intently staring at my dad's motionless figure with a worrisome face. "That's not going to help him." I bluntly stated while adjusting the saline solution to a slower rate since the initial fluid dose was already running through his system.

" _What if the last thing Elliot heard from me is my yelling at him?"_ Jacqueline mumbled in English.

" _My dad's not going to die tonight, if he were in real danger, he would've let me inject the Rsk. Second, why'd you yell at him?"_ I asked moments before sitting next to the snow leopard.

" _All his… 'Projects'… They're all dangerous, and he doesn't think about what would happen to us if he were to die."_ Jacqueline replied with frustration.

Before replying, I let out a small sigh. " _After all these years, do you really not realize danger is drawn to him supernaturally, yet through all of it, he survives… Did you know your car almost blew up the city while he was building it?"_

" _No."_

" _That's how Elliot got into this mess in the first place; The original power source was going to be a nuclear reactor, but it started to melt down, completely irradiating his body. I remember him desperately trying to cool the liquid uranium burning a hole through the containment chamber."_

" _What happened?"_

" _He ended up flying the whole reactor off into a forest so he could detonate a cold fusion bomb to cool it down. That's why all his current power sources are fusion reactors… It's because he cares about us."_

" _Why not just make them in the beginning? It can't be that much harder."_ Jacqueline replied.

" _Yeah, it can be. The one under our basement is the simple design, and it took him a year and a half to contain the plasma within the doughnut ring. Even then, it can only run for a few minutes if I'm remembering correctly."_

" _How do you know all this? Elliot doesn't let anyone down there."_

" _Are you kidding; He taught me how to infiltrate anything… and I mean ANYTHING. That security system has some serious problems, but ya-know what I found come up on the hand scanner after I broke the code?"_

" _What?"_

" _Two words… Good job. Dad knew I'd try to break in, and he made it so I could; If he wanted to keep me out, that door would require a DNA sample for entry, yet it has a thirty digit override code that never changes."_ I said while shifting my gaze to the oak covered blast door. " _Now, back on topic. The reactor in your car took almost three years to make, and all it does is power your car. If anything were to go wrong with it, all that would happen is it would shut down. If it had the fission reactor that dad originally planned, it could go critical and cause a mushroom cloud."_ I said, which seemed to hit Jacqueline harder than my other sentences. I let her think about it for awhile, but I still didn't know what to do about a certain vixen and doe. " _What should I do about them?"_ I asked while gesturing to my friends currently eyeing Elliot.

" _Tell them the truth. It's a little late for much else."_ Jacqueline replied with a shrug.

" _Not necessarily, I could wipe their memory of the last forty-eight hours."_ I replied with more consideration on the matter; Sure, they were my friends, but my dad's secret needed to stay a secret.

"NO, just go tell them the truth." Jacqueline said in Daurilian, which caught the attention of our company.

"How much? It's a touchy subject." I replied.

"All of it… I guess."

" _*sigh*_ Welp, there goes this friendship. Come with me." I ordered while walking to the garage. Maria and Shelby took a few seconds to process my order, although they eventually followed me into the garage. "If you have questions, ask them; But you can't tell anyone… Unfortunately, if you do, you and whomever received the information must die." I said, which received a chuckle from Shelby as she pulled out her phone with a picture of my dad on its screen.

"What if I post this on Furbook?" She asked tauntingly while waving the device. In a split second, I snatched the phone and drew my Cyanide pistol, aiming it at her chest.

"You might be my friend, but you're nothing compared to the life of my father. If you threaten his life, I will end yours." I warned the terrified Vixen in front of me.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

Aching didn't begin to describe how badly my head throbbed; It felt as if a hydraulic ram was slamming into my brain over and over. Not only that, I was thirsty, and my eyes were completely crusted shut, preventing me from perceiving the surroundings. All sounds were muffled by the sound of my heart pounding over and over in my ears, and I really wanted to curl up and die.

" _Why me?"_ I internally whined while groping around to determine my immediate surrounding, which up until this point was nothing more than darkness. Almost immediately after starting my quest for knowledge, I felt a painful tug at my wrist. " _Why do I have an IV?"_ I began feeling as to where the tube ran to, finding a bag of cold fluid being suspended on a hanger of some kind; Naturally, I didn't like having an unknown fluid being inserted into my body, so out the Intravenous lines went. I began using the fluid dripped from the lines to wet the crust sealing my eyes, and after a minute or two, my goobers were wiped into my shirt, restoring my sight;

" _Seriously_ … _IT'S PITCH BLACK IN HERE!"_ I thought while shaking my arms in frustration. My first attempts to stand from whatever I was previously laying on only ended with an unceremonious bucking of the knees, followed by collapsing on the floor. This caused my heart to pound even louder, and the pounding of my brain hurt even more from the small fall. " _Maybe moving isn't such a good idea."_ I groaned internally while curling up on the carpeted floor.

Next thing I knew it, I was lifted off the floor by two sets of paws, one of which kept their grasp on my shoulders. Instinctively, I really wanted to punch whatever was holding me down, although I was more or less certain that whomever was the owner of the paws holding me down wasn't acting in hostility. I could hear muffled speech through the sounds of my thunderous heartbeat, but that's all it was, muffled and unrecognizable. My next thought was to identify who was grasping my shoulders to keep me supine. I reached up and lightly felt around at the animal's arms, which happened to be quite fluffy; On instinct, I almost asked if it was Jacqueline, but thought better of it just in case I was being held by someone of unfriendly relations.

After a few minutes of hearing almost completely muffled speech that seemed to be more panicked as time went by, I found myself being shaken at the shoulders. That was all it took for me to push one paw off my shoulder while bringing the other across my body diagonally. I then threw one of my legs over the back of it's neck, and pulled the unknown animal into a fairly constricting Triangle choke, minus pulling on the back of their head with interlaced fingers; This was just suppose to be a warning, yet when I tried to verbally warn the Daurilian not to shake me, I found no words leaving my mouth.

Nevertheless, I persistently attempted to incite speech while keeping the animal in the triangle choke, albeit with less squeezing force than before.

" _Ahh, that's where the other one went to."_ I said at the feeling of another set of paws attempting to unhook my left leg from the right foot, to no avail; Seriously, there wasn't a chance anything would pry me off the trapped animal… short of dismemberment or unconsciousness.

* * *

-=Ella Pov=-

"Jacqueline, just stay calm." I said reassuringly at the sight of her being held in a vise like Triangle choke.

Her response was a muffled strain. "Sure, It's not like I'm being suffocated or anything."

"I told you not to shake him." I replied moment's before my Dad lessened his grip on Jacqueline. My plan was to quickly flatten out his foot, and slide his left leg off the right one, effectively breaking the hold; What ended up happening was less than desired. "Crap. . . Okay, I have an idea, but if _any_ of you laugh at me, I will be very upset." I said while shifting my gaze to friends, who were looking at the situation with worry.

"Ughhh, this is so embarrassing." I whined just before nuzzling into my father's neck, causing a flinch on his part. It took a few seconds, but the instant the light clicked on in his mind, Jacqueline was released, and I found myself pulled atop his chest in a tight hug. "Not. A. Word." I grumbled at my chortling friends. I would never admit it to anyone, but the feeling of my dad holding me just like he did all those years ago was very blissful and comforting.

It seemed as though I couldn't talk to him, and he couldn't talk to me… quite the dilemma; My solution was a bit of a long-shot as I didn't expect him to know my intentions when I started tapping on his shoulder. After about a minute of tapping, I stopped and waited for a response that I thought would never come. My anxiety sky rocketed the moment he lifted his hand from my upper back to my shoulder.

 **Tap-tap tap…tap…tap.**

"He said he's not okay." I relayed at my dad's answer. After a few much faster taps, I had a whole sentence written out in my head. I was completely silent at the grave sentence.

"What'd he say?" Jacqueline asked with impatience.

"He can't see or hear anything." I replied moment's before tapping on my dad's shoulder at breakneck speeds. Pretty soon, we were exchanging all of his symptoms and how to counteract them, the method of which neither of us wanted to use. I tapped that I would go and get the elixir, but it would take me at least fifteen minutes before I would return. In response, he asked if the two other creatures watching him were of concern.

"Of course you would still notice them." I chucked while telling him no.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

With reluctance, I released my grasp on Ella so she could retrieve the silver liquid that would restore my body to full operating capacity… at a cost. The only other option was to inject my one remaining Recovery Stimulation Kit, which was not an option for me since the fluid was capable of healing mortal wounds like nothing. The alternative was a more permanent installment, and while it was unwanted, it would heal any problems that persisted now or in the future. " _Just like old times; Modified and inhuman."_ I thought as I slowly sat up on what was found to be our livingroom couch; Apparently I'd passed out sometime last night after telling Ella that my cold sweating, and shaking was normal.

Even though my sight was gone, I could still feel two sets of eyes intently staring me down. My response was simply turning my head in the direction of the signatures at a painfully slow speed, earning two sets of paws thumping in the direction of Ella's room; Friends of hers, I presume. That left me with the single animal I choked earlier. If you've ever worn sound proof headphones on a slightly delayed feedback loop that plays your voice, you will understand how hard it can be to speak when technically deaf. With that in mind, I kept my words in the double syllable range.

"I'm sorry." That was what I hoped to say; What actually came out was of an unknown pattern.

Shortly after attempting to apologize, Jacqueline padded in front of me and started hovering mere inches away from my seated position. I could feel her breath blowing gently across my face, and part of me was worried she was mad, however the other part of me wanted to lean in and hug her. After she didn't move for what seemed like a good minute or two, I realized she was probably debating an action, just as I was. I calmly waited for her verdict, and after a few more minutes of sitting perfectly still, it seemed a choice was made. I found myself being pushed horizontally on the couch while Jacqueline straddled my abdomen.

Once I was completely supine, she lowered from being on all fours to actually laying on my body with her nose pressed right up to mine. In response, I encircled my arms around her back, and started scratching just above her tail. As the years together passed, I found just how much Jacqueline resembled to an earth house cat, giving me unprecedented knowledge of feline pleasure spots. This happened to be one of her favorite spots to be scratched, and she showed it by wrapping her fuzzy arms around my neck to allow better smashing of our faces. In addition to her predatory kissing, I found two sets of claws starting to dig into my nape. At first I paid no mind to it as our tongues intertwined, however, when I felt blood starting to dribbled from my skin, that was when her friskiness went too far. Instead of attempting to verbally tell her what was happening, a difficult task when someone else's tongue is in your mouth, I simply stopped scratching her back, and grabbed a good portion of her scruff; The reaction was an instantaneous release of her claws, as well as Jacqueline's whole body going stiff.

By this time, my head's pounding was starting to subside, and some of my hearing was returning, however, my vision was still nil. When I began to speak, it was quiet and distant."You are an intoxicating weapon, Gatáki." I said while reaching behind my neck to show the damage done.

"YOUR NECK!" She said in a whisper, not that it was actually a whisper, just heavily muffled from the pounding in my head.

"Like I said, and intoxicating weapon." I said with a deep inhalation of her scent.

"I FOUND IT!" Ella squealed from afar. Moments later, she was tapping away at my shoulder to indicate what I'd just heard. Of course as the type of character I am, I let her finish the long series of taps before replying.

"Just remember to inject it at the correct rates, I don't need you to be bursting my arteries."

"You can hear again! Why didn't you say anything?" Ella squawked with indignance.

"You seemed to be having fun… I didn't have the heart to interrupt you." I said while holding a hand up to my chest.

"You do realize I'm the one about to stick a two and a half inch hypodermic needle into your femoral artery, right? I mean, what If I were to miss by a few inches?" Ella asked facetiously.

"You wouldn't." I countered with squinted eyes. After no response came, I started to wonder if my hearing once again disappeared; As fate would have it, all further attempts to make noise were met with silence. I started tapping on the couch again to relay the message, although before I completed the first word, I found my pants being pulled off, and my shoulders being forced on the couch. If this were in any other context, I'd probably be knocking fools out by now, however, I knew it to be for my own good. Nevertheless, the thought of my daughter ramming a two inch needle into my leg about an inch away from my junk by was quite the motivation to wiggle. The only thing keeping me moderately still was the knowledge that this was going to happen eventually, so might as well get it over with now. Before my compression shorts were removed, I felt several taps from latex gloved paws asking if I was ready. My response was a simple grumble, which I felt reverberate from my throat.

Moments later, my underwear was being pulled off by who I assumed to be Ella since I was clutching Jacqueline's paw with a shaking hand; It didn't matter how prepared I was for pain, the thought of such a painful injection was enough to get my body to shake… and then the needle began pressing into my right inner thigh, just to the left of my junk. I tried my best to hold completely still as Ella deftly slid the hypodermic needle an inch and a half into my leg, although Some convulsion was beyond my control. Shortly after she reached the correct depth, I felt the needle being retracted to leave the intravenous line within my leg; That didn't help the hellish sharp feeling that ran all throughout my leg, stomach, and testicles.

At this point in time, I felt the fluid already working it's way throughout my bloodstream, into every facet of my body. From knowledge of what was being injected, I knew that the silvery liquid would take no more than twenty minutes for my ailments to be completely dealt with. Moments after feeling the IV line being pulled from my leg, the sensation of an alcohol drenched cotton swab pounded into my head. Around this point, I was at me threshold for how long my daughter would be working around my reproductive organs, so I put my hand on the swab, and pulled up my compression shorts with great haste.

Simply not caring about the other half of my clothing, I spent the half hour recovery time laying back on of the couch while in deep thought; Most of my thinking was on the future, and what it held for me in the long run. How would the retired fleet admiral be able to handle suburban life. Sure, I'd been living here for a few years with Ella and Jacqueline, but my job gave me that release of all the restlessness built up from not being in danger. How could I give up the thing I was made for? The injection received would only add to the issue. With Jacqueline's decree about my projects, my restlessness would only build up faster, and I'm not even going to start on the nightmares the keep me up at night.

There were two things in my life I still wanted to accomplish. One, I wanted to be at ease with the world, not constantly worrying about why this person's gait is a little funky, or why did my coffee taste different than normal. And two, I wanted grow old and die of natural causes instead of being thrown in a ditch at the age of eighty-five

At the point of my thoughts reaching where they did, my eyes and ears were at full operating capacity. "I'm really sorry about this, but I have somewhere to be!" I shouted into the seemingly empty house while pulling up my cargo pants; In hindsight, I probably should've just left. Not three seconds after shouting my departure, Jacqueline leaped from the top of the staircase, landing at the bottom on all fours. I could see the anger in her eyes as she plowed into my sternum. "Don't you dare think about leaving!" She hissed with bared fangs.

"I told you, I have somewhere to be, it's very important." I replied with calculated speech. This only seemed to anger the feline further.

"You almost died and you want to just up and go the moment you recover!?"

"Well yes. I need to speak with someone about my future. I don't see why this is a big deal."

"I'm not a machine, Elliot! I can't just shut off my feelings like you!"

I thought carefully about what I was going to say next, and what possible reactions I could get from it. Once again, In hindsight I probably should've said something different. "I'm going to speak to your parents. I've located their residence far to the northwest, and I planned to go there on Sunday, but that didn't happen."

Instantly, Jacqueline's anger poofed into oblivion, only to be replaced with a small crease at the corner of her mouth. "… Why did you want to see my parents?"

"That's classified." I deadpanned, causing Jacqueline's ears to lay flat. "You'll find out eventually, I just need to speak with them… Can I go now?" I asked with a strange tingle in my body. I was unable to identify what it was, however Jacqueline seemed to know, as her expression once again changed, this time from her suppressed grin to complete lechery.

"You smell wonderful." She whispered, giving me the insight as to what the tingling was; Pheromone release.

"ELLIOT!"Nick shouted from the front door seconds before my phone began ringing. One the call cycled to the answering machine, his voice blared through with panic."Elliot, Judy's in labor and we're at your door."

"This isn't over." Jacqueline muttered with a lick to my cheek before darting up the stairs to our room.

The instant I swung the front door open, Nick rushed in with Judy in his arms. "Couch, I'll be back in a minute." I said while calmly padding towards the basement door. After inputting my retinal scan and pass-code, I retrieved a small vial of fluid, two tripod mounted spotlights, latex gloves, a mask, and a few super absorbent towels.

"Judy, I'm about to give you the painkillers." I said while uncapping a small hypodermic needle.

"No, I'm going to do this naturally." She replied.

"Sorry, but if I don't give you this, the chances of you surviving the birthing process go down almost seventy percent. I discussed this with both of you already." I said with slight vexation from them barging in unannounced.

"Why can't I do it normally?" Judy asked with a slight strain in her voice.

"Nick, how long has she been in labor?"

"About fifteen minutes. Just long enough for me to get home, and take here here."

"Dang, how many lights did you run? Nevermind, Judy, you're giving birth to a creature that's almost or the same size as a fox kit. You're lucky I don't have to give you a C-section. This will numb the pain, and dilate your cervix far more than normally possible. If i don't there's a chance your birth canal will be torn.

"Fine, just get it over with." She muttered in response.

Once the spotlights were in place, and my gloves were on, I pushed the needle into Judy's arm, and injected the orange solution. She almost immediately relaxed under the influence of my specially derived narcotic, and her calm state seemed to contract to Nick. After laying out a towel under Judy as to preserve my couch, I turned on the spotlights/

"Nick, if you would please remove her pants." I said while aiming the lights in the correct position.

"What?" He asked indignantly.

"I can't exactly deliver a baby with her pants on, now can I." I said with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh… duh." He mumbled while removing the lower half of his wife's clothing.

After about another hour of waiting, Judy was finally going into the second stage of the birthing process, although my specially derived painkillers were so effective, she still hadn't strained more than once. Eventually, the baby popped out into the world, and immense relief washed over my body; I'd created a DNA splicing that didn't look like puke, in fact, she looked adorable. Completely covered in foxes fur, Violet had slightly pointed rabbit ears, a shorter than normal muzzle, and a rabbit's tail colored like a fox. It appeared that my design of mostly predator worked almost flawlessly. The most intriguing feature I found about the hybrid child was her eyes. One of them was amethyst and the other one was emerald, just like her parents eyes.

"Here you go misses Wilde." I said while handing over the bundled up hybrid. "You can hold her for awhile, but I still need to do a multi-phase atomic level scan to determine her health status." I said while folding up some of the liquid saturated towels.

"Thank you." She replied as I handed over the kit.

"For what?" I asked after shutting off the spotlights.

"Her… She's beautiful." Judy said while petting Violet's folded back ears.

". . . Please excuse me, I need to throw these in the washer." I said while hauling off the towels. Upon my return, Nick was holding violet in his arms, though when he turned away from Judy, I could see the worry that plagued his mind.

"Mister Wilde, may I speak to you for a moment." I said while gesturing to the basement. "Judy, I'll be done with the scan in about fifteen to twenty minutes, feel free to watch TV or something, just don't try to walk… or move at all for that matter."

"Okay. Bye-bye Violet." Judy baby talked to her child.

Just as Jacqueline awed at sight of my basement, Nick's mouth gaped open at the sight of the inactive, eight foot tall ring. He spent a few minutes looking around with Violet in his arms, however, when I tried to retrieve the kit, he growled at me.

"You growl at me again, and I'll duck tape your mouth shut, Wilde." I warned with annoyance. "Now hand her over."

"S-Sorry, it was just instinct." He said while forking the baby over. I turned to a large machine along the wall, and put Violet inside the metal container, closing the steel door with a click. I could see it on Nick's face that he was worried as to what the machine would do to the child, although I paid no mind as I activated the scanner.

"First, She's going to be fine in there. Second, both of you need to refrain from baby talking to her, It impedes speech development."

"Hey, she's _my_ daughter." He argued indignantly.

"Yes, and you wanted me to keep her safe. I will do all I can to carry out as such, even if you deem it unsafe."

"Elliot, what does that mean?"

"If you turn out to be unfit to raise this hybrid, I will find a replacement."

"How could you say that!?" Nick demanded with slightly bared fangs.

"I would refrain from baring your fangs around me, Wilde. To answer your question, both of you have a job that takes vast amounts of time and creates enemies. If someone were to kidnap her, you don't have the proper resources to retrieve her objectively. As harsh as this may sound, I know from experience. . . . As your friend, I hope that never happens, and I think you'll be great parents, but from a strategic standpoint, you don't have the knowhow in situations of hostages with emotional ties."

"I. . . But if we don't know how to protect her, what do we do?"

"Teach Violet how to protect herself, use me if necessary; I'm sure you know that I'd do anything to save my daughter, that will extend to her now." I said with a gesture to the sealed steel scanner.

"You would do that?" Nick asked graciously.

"I would… Even if I wasn't your best man." I replied jokingly. Nick chuckled for a few seconds, then the basement was sent into silence as I blankly stared at the Quirium fueled, Galactic Hyperspace ring Jacqueline forebode me from working on. As time went by, I began feeling that itch to work on it, and I'm telling you I could have it fully operational in twenty minutes flat. All that was left to do was the initial boot sequence, and the instillation of the highly unstable Quirium fuel Judith sent me; What, did you think I manufactured everything here? Almost all the materials I used were manufactured off-world, and shipped here for me to use in whatever construction purpose I needed.

"Hey, what's this stuff?" Nick asked.

"Synthetic rabbit muscle." I replied absentmindedly, only catching myself when it was too late.

"I'm not even going to start on how disgusting that is." Nick replied with a grimace.

My reply changed dramatically from trying to keep Nick quiet, to a more casual response considering he didn't flip his shit. "It's pretty good, and I've almost got the texture down correctly. You want some?"

"I'll pass, I have my own supply at home."

"Suit yourself." I said while continuing to stare at the wormhole ring.

"Hey, I don't know if you can smell this sorta thing, but you're producing a huge amount of pheromones compared to the last time I saw you."

"I'm aware, but this is the normal amount I produce, I only recently fixed a genetic problem in my body, and now that it's working properly, certain chemicals have resumed full production."

"Really, what was wrong?"

"Dopamine and Testosterone production. As a result, related chemicals were produced in small percentages, however, now that those two are being produced at full volume, the rest of my body is starting to work normally."

"Bro, I'm not too sure this could be normal, even for humans." Nick said with a few sniffs in the air.

"We have a terrible sense of smell, therefore we need to produce larger volumes of the chemical for our subconscious to pick it up."

"If you say so. . . It's just so damn strong." He added, causing me to glance over at the fox.

"Nick, I swear to God if that's not a gun."

"I can't help it man!" He squawked defensively.

"Ugh, first Jacqueline, and now you. Next it's going to be Ella." I grumbled with dissatisfaction.

"Why would Jaqueline be a bad thing? She's your girlfriend."

"She really want's me to have sex with her, It's quite obnoxious."

"So have sex with her!" Nick shrieked.

"I can't." I replied while gazing back to the atomic microscope's monitor as to see it's completion status.

"With all those pheromones, I'm absolutely _positive_ you won't have a problem."

"It's not that. We're not married yet, and I have a thing about sex before marriage."

"You… of all people?" Nick asked incredulously.

"It's the way I was raised. I'm not entirely strategist after all. Besides, even strategically sex is a waste of time and nothing more than a physical pleasure."

"Uh-huh, you clearly haven't had sex, because I'm sure your opinion will change once you do."

"Well, I was going to go work on that, but someone insisted on giving birth today."

"Work on what? The sex?" Nick asked with a tilted head.

"No, getting married. I finally found Jacqueline's parents, and I was about to go ask them for permission, but you showed up."

"Damn, you're actually going the whole way about being gentlemanly. Lemme tell you, the first time Judy hinted that she wan-"

"NICK… I don't care about the first time you fucked Judy."

"Right…" Nick mumbled while twiddling his paws. "Well, now what do we talk about?"

"I dunno… don't particularly care either." I said with a shrug.

"Okay, how about your hobbies. You've been staring at that ring ever since you sat down, what is it?"

"A Quirium fueled Galactic Hyperspace gateway. I also have a Quirium cascade mine over there, It's pretty cool stuff." I said while thumbing to a cylindrical object sitting on a shelf.

"How powerful is it? The bomb I mean."

"Well, it doesn't really explode, It relies on matter to create a fissionable reaction, engulfing things within its cascade radius. If there's a sufficient supply of matter to be annihilated, the reaction could go on forever; It's the same principle for the Flamestone cannon aboard the current Farragut interdictors, just in bomb form."

"So, how can a giant bomb be used to make a teleporter?"

"It's just a highly unstable chemical. How you apply it's energy potential is what defines weapon or tool."

"Okay… I think. Where did it come from? Like, when did humans discover it?"

"Originally, it was derived from captured Thargoid ships in twenty-eight fifty. There was a public research project that turned the material into Frame Shift Drive fuel, and there was the secret military project that turned it into weaponry. After the fall of the galactic cooperative, the fuel was lost along with all of its technological capabilities. Humanity was sent into a recess that lasted hundreds of years, and trillions of people died because ships could no longer reach their colonies in a timely manner. It's only been recently rediscovered, and put into use for a specific few. It has the capability of reaching other Galaxies in a single jump, and though the material could be mass produced, the risk of rogue terrorist's using a Quirium Cascade mine in conjunction with a hyperspace gate to blow up entire star systems is too great."

"Wow, your history is complicated."

"Tell me about it. I could on on for years."

"How about the cool parts? We've got some time to kill, so what's the grand story of humanity?"

"What kind of cool parts? There's military history and explorational history."

"Explorational history, since you told me about the military stuff already. But first, could you like, give me a gas mask, You're starting to look pretty sexy over there."

"… Maybe there is something wrong." I mumbled while preparing to access my neural implant. I started typing away at a holographic keyboard, pulling up the interfacing software for what used to control my robotic limb; The arm was long since replaced by Zofia, although the neural implant remained inside my brain. According to the diagnostics section of my Implant, my body was producing three hundred percent over what was the standard pheromone rate.

"Well crap, I was really hoping to never have to turn this on." I said just before activating the artificial intelligence controlling what Ella injected into my leg. With a surge of light, I found a heads up display in my vision with vital monitoring, and different functions, most of which were disabled.

" _Hello Elliot."_ Sam said into my brain.

"Let's just get this over with. Lower testosterone levels to one hundred percent."

"Who are you talking to?" Nick asked while attempting to hold back recently started panting.

"I was forced to inject Nanotech into my bloodstream, and I was hoping to never activate the AI controlling them."

" _Hey, I'm not that bad of a companion."_ Sam aggrieved.

"Please just lower the chemical production and remove the HUD."

" _Yes, Sir."_

"There, Just give it a few minutes, and you won't be wanting all this delicious human meat." I said with a joking trace around one of my pecks.

"You're not helping."

"I'm not trying to." I said with a smirk. "But seriously, if you try anything a very powerful taser with end up being fired into your junk." I added while walking to the emergency chemical dissipation center. Upon throwing the very large, bright red lever mounted to the wall, the whole room was filled with gale force winds, however, they only lasted about ten seconds or so; Just long enough to make the fox's fur poof out in every direction. All my light weight equipment was fastened to the tables the resided on, so nothing was shifted about the room.

"There, take a few breaths in and out, your mind should be clear momentarily." I said as I seated myself next to the Atomic microscope.

"Talk about an energy booster. How'd you get so much air to move through the room?" Nick asked exuberantly while defluffing his fur.

"It's pretty simple, I just made a large air intake on one wall and a black hole on the other. All the atmosphere gets sucked right in from outside, and the atmophere in her is sucked into oblivion."

"I-I-I… I don't even."

"Don't even what?" I asked while opening the compartment to retrieve the crying Violet. Almost instantly, Nick's paws shot out and snatched the hybrid, where he began to ease her crying. I never received an answer to my question, so I moved onto reading through Violet's atomic scan. After a fair amount of sifting through genetic data, I eventually concluded my searching. "Ya-ready for the news?" I asked in a downcast tone.

"Oh no, what is it?" Nick said with worry as he clutched his daughter slightly tighter.

"She's.

.

.

.

fine. Now get out of my basement." I said while deftly shutting down the microscope.

"You DICK!" He screeched.

"Says the man with a boner from another man." I smirked, earning his face and ears to turn bright red. "Ya-know-" I started in a seductive tone. " I met another version of you that was actually in love with me. We were even mates in his universe." I whispered as I caressed his inner thigh with my hand.

It seemed the Nick was in turmoil with what he should do. I could see one part of his eyes were completely sex hungry, whereas the other was telling him this was wrong; I had the solution for his ever so important dilemma. With the flick of mental switch, the nanites in my body discharged DC voltage into his leg.

His response was a high pitched yelp. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Wilde." I said just before walking to a small shelf across the room. Inside one of the white boxes was a single cobalt blue box, about the size of a tangerine.

"I feel sorry for Jacquline when you start petting her, it feels amazing." Nick said in an almost whining tone.

"Well, don't get used to it, Afráta Alepoú. Now, do you think I should reuse these?" I asked while opening the box to reveal a single, graphite black ring, that when touched, split into two smaller rings.

"That looks familiar for some reason." He commented while scrutinizing the rings.

"Stay on topic, do you think Jacqueline would like them?"

"I dunno, I suppose she mi… these are wedding rings aren't they?" Nick asked in realization.

"Yes sherlock, they are wedding rings. My old mom's old rings to be specific."

"First, that fact alone is killer, but they seem to… to, ehh."

"Ehh?" I asked.

"They sparkle too much for me. I think wedding rings should be simple."

"How is graphite black sparkly?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm talking about the splitting apart feature." He said while petting Violets ears.

"It's just an electromagnet, they don't even need to connect. But I suppose if that's a bit too fancy, then the shield generator inside is also a no-no?"

"Why on Daurilia would it have a shield?"

"My parents were cautious people, and antimatter isn't that expensive." I said while stowing the blue box back in it's parent container. "C'mon, I'm sure Judy's wanting to see Violet again." I said while padding to the stairs. I could've sworn I heard someone darting through the house as we ascended the staircase, however there was no one to be seen with the required mass.

* * *

-=Jacqueline Pov=-

" _He's going to marry me."_ I giddily thought while listening in from the basement door, just before darting upstairs.

* * *

 **A/N: I need a serious question that I've been in turmoil trying to answer answered; Do I write an** **explicit sex scene when the time arises. I've almost done it several times before, however, when I reach the point of actually writing it, I don't really want to, so I don't. The big thing is if this would ruin the story or not, it is rated M, so keep that in mind.**

 **Please don't be an ass about this, it's not something that I'm comfortable writing about, I get all wiggly in my seat, and not for the reason you might be thinking : _\_**


	18. Chapter 18: Good Intentions

_Chapter Eighteen: Good Intentions_

 _Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it._

* * *

"They say if you live long enough, you'll see everything. Well, I'm plenty old enough, yet I missed this somehow. I can't believe I was this stupid, how could I have missed something so blatantly obvious…. Everything they told me was a lie… They aren't protectors, they're computers that sap the life from everything around them. Let me back up, if you're listening to this, it means I've been killed."

* * *

-=Three years earlier=-

"I'm telling you I heard someone scampering around while we were down there." I said while rummaging through the fridge for some snacks. "I know you heard it too, I'm not an idiot."

"Seriously, I didn't hear anything." Nick replied from the living room.

"Judy, did anyone come through here while we were scanning Violet?" I shouted as to confer with someone that owned a pair of biological radar dishes.

"Nooo." She whined back.

"I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy, I'm not-" My speech was stopped mid sentence by the sound of a faint crackle of electricity in the garage, prompting me to retrieve a handgun from the bread box on the counter-top.

"Nick, you remember when I was on the transition world, and I talked about the people who sent me there?" I asked while silently inching towards the garage door with my weapon raised.

"Vaguely, yeah."

"I think they're back." I said while nodding to the door, which was now emanating light from under the door. "Don't worry, they're just after me." I said while reaching for the door, only to have it open prematurely. On the other side, I found nothing of the sort, only Ella with a propped up welding mask atop her head.

"Hey, Dad." She said while brushing past me, causing Nick to instantly snicker.

I know it was in good taste, but his laughing really upset me, causing the decision to get in my car and drive off without another word. I didn't think I was funny at all, the Guardian's hadn't contacted me since Elliot U-0065 entered the Obelisk and killed Zofia with it's power. I didn't think he killed the Guardians, I mean they weren't all that bad. Sure, some of their promiscuous actions around me weren't appreciated, but I don't think they deserved to die.

Since I was already driving on the freeway, I decided I might as well go see Jacqueline's parents, because nothing says great timing like a Thursday afternoon. The drive was almost a hundred miles to the north, eventually reaching the point where the freeway turned into dirt service roads, and the forests surrounding Zootopia gave way to craggy mountain ranges with snow capping their peaks.

"So glad this has pneumatic suspension." I said while navigating through the computer display in the center dash; I'd designed the suspension to raise and lower the vehicle from one to six inches off the ground. The virtual display displaying outside was starting to become obscured by the snowfall, prompting me to exit the vehicle to attach little wiper blades to the camera matrix. Due to the cold whether, the color shifting paint was a pearl blue as opposed to the flame red when exposed to heat above eighty degrees Fahrenheit.

The cameras were positioned all around the vehicle, simply little bubbles in the body about the size of a grape. This enabled the vehicle to have no windows at all, increasing the protection of passengers immensely. Inside, there were moldable monitors embedded into the walls of the vehicle, allowing a three-hundred and sixty degrees of view without blind-spots, and the benefit of a heads up display alerting me to weapons status, vertical thrusters status, and reactor heat buildup. By the time I finished installing the half inch wiper blades around the dozen or so cameras, I felt as if something was watching me, not an intelligent being, something wild.

"Sam, thermal overlay." I ordered to seemingly no one, causing the AI system implanted into my brain to order the nanobots to filter in infrared light through my eye, capturing the light and assembling it into a thermogram pattern. This gave me a thermal vision of sorts, although I wasn't actually seeing anything as the rods and cones in my eye were being blocked by the nanites. The nanites in turn sent new electrical impulses into my visual cortex to substitute the lack of organic input. I began turning clockwise, briefly searching within my visual range for a heat signature, and sure enough, I found a wolf staring at me from within a shrub of some kind.

"Who are you!?" I shouted while pointing the in direction of the animal, only resulting in it darting off into the woods on all fours. "Disable thermal overlay." I said while opening the car door. It wasn't worth it for me to chase the creature because it's intelligent, or 'savage' status being an unknown at this point. I was certainly far enough into the continent to be seeing the starts of wild variants to the Daurilians, however, at this point it was still unlikely.

The snow covered dirt roads were a bit more difficult to drive through, even with the six inch lift on the car. There were several occasions where I was forced to activate the vertical thrusters on the vehicle to regain traction. The way that worked was a single, polyphase electric turbofan with an intake at the nose of the vehicle, and it's vectoring exhaust ports distributed around the body, giving the vehicle up to the weight of a small semi truck through shear exhaust thrust. Eventually, I came upon a toll booth of blocking the road with a small red beam on a hinge. There was a single arctic wolf looking through the booth's window with a mixture of uncertainty and interest. When he stood to greet me, that's when the red flags started; He was wearing full body armor, and carrying a high powered carbine.

"Ma'am? Is that you in there?" He asked.

"Negative." I replied through the vehicles megaphone, albeit turned down to a conversation volume.

"… Sir, I'm going to require you turn around immediately, this is private property." He ordered while gripping the rifle at a rest position. Once glance about his demeanor told me someone of high skill trained that guard.

"I'm looking for Mister and Misses Ferguson, I'm currently dating their daughter."

"Sir, no one by that name lives here, now I-" His sentence was interrupted by my action of stepping out of the vehicle, leaving the wolf completely dazed for a good five seconds or so. His next action was charging the weapon's bolt and aiming the weapon at my chest. "GET BACK IN THE VEHICLE!"

I simply raised my right hand, and snapped my finger, causing the point defense system on the roof of my car to activate, aiming right at the wolf. "That right there is plasma point defense system capable of destroying torpedoes the size of this car. Who do you think will tap first? I'm voting for the turret." I said with a shit-eating grin. I wasn't actually going to incinerate the guard, even if he opened fire on me. Killing a guard probably wouldn't go over too well with the Ferguson's for a first impression.

The wolf briefly debated his options, opting to lower the rifle and raise his hands in the air. "Okay, I surrender."

"Good." I said just before the turret retracted into its compartment. "Now, do the Ferguson's live here?"

"I can't say, I'd lose my job." He replied.

"Okay, lemme rephrase. Are they here now?" I asked while pointing at my feet. "I know they live here. Lemme break it down for you. I'm about to ask their daughter to marry me, and I'm going about it the gentlemanly way of doing so."

Although the wolf said nothing, I could see from his expression change that he was disgusted by my sentence.

"Calm down, Just because I'm from another planet doesn't mean I'm some monster under children's beds. I'm just a male like you, another mind within a body, nothing more. Seriously, it's not like I'm going to abduct her or anything… it'd probably be the other way around." I mumbled.

"She's that kind of feline, huh?" The wolf asked with a grin.

"What?"

"Her abducting you."

"Oh… yeah, she already did it once a few years back. I ended up tied to a bed three hundred miles past Bunnyburrow."

"Damn, and you want to marry her?" He asked incredulously.

"Sure do. You can lower your paws, but keep in mind, I'm bullet proof." I said while leaning up against my car.

"Really?"

"Well, bullet _proof_ isn't really a thing. I'm highly bullet resistant, how's that?"

"Close enough. Look, the name's Gary." He said while extending a gloved paw.

"Nice to meet you… now, about letting me in."

"I still have orders, sorry."

"I get it, but you aren't going to keep me from getting in there, so are we going to go about knocking you out the easy way, or the hard way."

"… The hard way I guess." He said.

"Very well, Gary, on your move." I said while calmly waiting for the wolf to make his move. After a few seconds, the wolf back rolled, and came up with his weapon raised, only I was right in front of him, bending the barrel of his rifle ninety degrees to one side. "Uh-oh." He mumbled just before I hoisted the wolf into the air with a single hand. "This is outpost one, Reques-" Gary stopped mid sentence from me crushing the radio in it's pouch, rendering the wolf without any contact to his friends. "Are you going to kill me?"

"Nahh." I said just before throwing him face up into the snow below me. "But you still need to look like you put up a fight." I said while drawing a Swecent knife, activating the plasma edge inches away from his face. I could see the terror in the animal's eyes as they glistened a purple from to the plasma edged, single wall Carbon Nanotube knife.

"Not the face man." He whimpered.

"Then pick a spot, I only have a few seconds."

"..."

"The ear it is." I said just before cutting his ear into two pieces, making it a forked ear. "Don't worry, the blade already cauterized the wound." I said just before knocking Gary out with a single punch to the temple. Then, I darted to my car, and told it to drive five miles down the road. Before the vehicle left, I grabbed a paper picture of Jacqueline and my body hologram. "Sorry about this Gary." I said while dragging him and his weapons off into the woods with ease. The first step was to become Gary via the hologram. All it took was a few drops of his blood, and a change of the settings to make myself look more or less like the guard. I switched our clothing around, and while he lacked shoes and the pant legs were a bit too short, I looked almost exactly like the wolf, holographic injuries included. His rifle was completely useless due to the bend I put in its barrel, leaving me with his rink-a-dink sidearm and two spare magazines.

It took me a few yards, but I eventually got a convincing limp going. By the time I reached the toll booth, the area was surrounded by about seven more guards. All of which were arctic species. The head of the group was a Siberian Tiger, and he instantly spotted me limping towards him.

"Whelan!" The tiger shouted before ordering a snow leopard to aid me. In seconds, I found myself being half lifted off the ground by the male leopard, who seemed completely oblivious to my true nature. "What the hell happened to you?" The Snow leopard asked with concern.

"I dunno, the thing was a monster, bent my rifle up like nothing." I said causing the Snow leopard to look at Whelan's rifle.

"Fuck!" He hissed. "Boss, take a look at this. His gun's all fucked up." The leopard said, causing the tiger, and everyone else to glance at the mangled weapon. There were several worrisome profanities muttered at the mention of my easy destruction.

"Damn, Whelan. You must've used up the last of your luck escaping. Tell me, how'd you do it?"

"The-the thing, it just left me in the snow, I wasn't captured, just mocked of my weakness." I said with a downcast expression.

"You cut that shit out right now, Whelan!" The Siberian tiger shouted. "Whatever's out there is stronger than any of us. Forbs, radio in a full lockdown, Get mocking jay to the bunker."

"Yes, Sir." The wolf replied before darting into the tool booth.

"Whelan, Ryan, take the four by four back and get patched up. The rest of you, follow me!' The tiger shouted before traipsing off into the woods, thankfully in the wrong direction. Unfortunately, I was still left with one enemy, the snow leopard. We both entered the off road troop transport, and headed down the dirt path with this 'Ryan' at the wheel.

"Did you get a good look at what it was?"

"No." I replied quietly.

"I'll bet ya it was a human, those things are spooky shit, am I right?" he said with an elbow to my side, causing a faux groan of pain on my part. "Crap, sorry bout that."

"Don't worry about it. And you're right, it was probably a human, sure smelled like it."

"Yeah, I can smell it on you. It's real weird."

"If you don't mind, can we ride in silence."

"Sure bro."

We drove as I requested, simple listening to occasional chatter on the CB radio or the 'no fucks given' sound of the Diesel engine. Eventually we came into view of an intriguing castle, very old in appearance; It was written in the history books that there were several strongholds built way inland when empire's still existed, however all official accounts were that they were destroyed. Guess this one hasn't been officially discovered. Once the vehicle stopped, Ryan popped out and aided my exit.

"You've been kind to me, so I'll be kind to you." I said while drawing the pistol to his side, just above the cummerbund armor panel. "First thing, give me the radio." I ordered to the snow leopard, who's ears were splayed flat. When he handed me the radio, I crushed it in my hand just like Whelan's.

"You're him, you're the monster."

"Indeed I am. Now, take me to the Ferguson's bunker."

"You'll never get though." He replied just before we reached the massive oak front door.

"Maybe, maybe not. But if you warn anyone inside, your neck will end up just like the radio." I said while hoisting the terrified leopard into the air via his plate carrier. "Capisce?"

"Y-yeah."

"Good." I said while stowing my sidearm. "Now help an injured comrade out." I said while faking my limp once again. When the door swung open there was a polar bear standing guard with what looked similar to a fifty cal as his rifle, though he only nodded to us as we limped by. Slowly but surely, the snow leopard guided me to a long descending staircase with two guards at the top.

"It's right through there, but I don't have access."

"That's fine. I'll call you over in a second, but if you call for help, they won't just be unconscious." I said just before rounding the corner with a limp. "He's coming!" I shouted with breathlessness. "Everyone's dead, the radios are down… please help me." I said as I fell to the ground. After a look of WTF from both guards, they scurried over to help me up.

"We gotcha. What the hell happened out there, I haven't heard any gunfire."

"That's because there wasn't any." I said just before grabbing one rifle with each hand, yanking them from their grasp. The wolves response was 'Oh shit' in a whisper as they both scrambled for their sidearms. The first of two didn't get a chance to reach it as I threw a palm strike to his plate carrier, sending the wolf into the adjacent wall with a loud thud. The second wolf was racking the slide when I reached him, although I didn't knock him out, opting to catch his finger in the trigger guard, bending it the wrong direction as I swiped the weapon. This brought the guard to his knees in an attempt to lessen the pressure on his finger.

"Do you know the code to this bunker?"

"I'll never tell it to you." He spat.

"I believe you." I said with a nod, moment's later, smacking him upside the head.

"Ryan, get over here." I ordered while dragging both of the unconscious guards towards the stairwell, one per arm.

"Shit." Ryan muttered.

"C'mon, this is almost over." I said while dragging the two down a few steps as to hide them from view. The snow leopard reluctantly obliged to my order, and started following me down the stairs. When we reached the bottom, I was met with the site of the Siberian tiger from outside standing in front of a vault door.

"So, thought you could disguise yourself as my own men." The tiger gruffly stated just before Ryan drew his sidearm to my head.

"Well, Disguise is a relative term." I said while disabling the hologram. "If I really wanted, the technology I possess could turn me into Gary Whelan given an hour or so, but for my purposes it was not necessary.

"You're a human… Never thought I'd actually meet wanna you."

"Fate is a fickle thing. I suggest you move out of the way before someone else gets hurt. I'm simply here to discuss something with the Ferguson's."

His reply was a thunderous chuckle. "You think a puny human like yourself can beat me? This will be rich."

"A normal human wouldn't stand a chance against you… There is no such thing as a normal human anymore, we're all modified in one way or another, I just happen to have both genetic, and technological enhancements. I said while ordering the nanites in my body to form a sword in my hand. "Now move." I ordered just before ryan shot me square in the back of the head.

"Ryan… What did I tell you would happen if you disobeyed my orders?" I seethed. The tiger seemed momentarily astounded at my impregnability, however, Ryan started visibly shaking. A shaking that was short lived when I punched him into the wall.

"That is quite impressive, Human. This will be a good fight."

"No, step aside." An elderly voice said from behind the tiger, who whipped around and started whispering something in return. Eventually, the tiger relented, stepping aside to reveal an old Snow leopard.

"I can clearly see that my time has come. All I ask is a swift death for my wife." The snow leopard asked.

"You misunderstand." I replied while retracting the Nanite sword into my body. "I'm simply here to talk with you… about her." I said while displaying the paper photo of Jacqueline. The snow leopard's eyes instantly widened in fear.

"Please, Whatever you want, just don't harm my daughter." He begged.

"Seriously, I'm not here to hurt you, or Jacquline."

"… If you're not here to harm me, then why did you break in?"

"Well, where to start. Security that refuses to acknowledge you live here, the fact that you took me a month to find, or the part where I really needed to punch something and your security was being quite unhelpful."

"Hmm… I suppose the police won't be much help, will they?"

"Not when I trained them, no."

"You training the police, I'd like to see that." The tiger interrupted moment's before I pulled out my phone, displaying group picture after group picture of ZPD academy graduates standing with me in the center. "Now, If you would be so kind as to join me somewhere else than this hole, I would like to ask you a question." I said just before ascending the stairs.

* * *

-=Ferguson's Pov=-

"Kasumi. Did you smell that?"

"Yes, I do believe Jacqueline has found a mate." She replied while exiting the vault style door.

"I'm not sure how I feel about her being with a Human."

"Oh Willard! She has to pick someone eventually, and this time you sure can't scare them into running off." Kasumi said with a slap to Willard's shoulder. Moment's later, they both heard shouting upstairs, followed by three very loud gunshots, and the Human falling back in the door, missing the staircase, and falling the hundred or so feet to the concrete below.

"Dammit, he seemed like a good male." Willard mumbled while padding towards the lifeless body.

"Thanks for the compliment." The human replied while sitting upright. "I'm going to kick his ass." He added as blood poured from the Human's chest and back where the rounds entered and exited his body, only to be sealed off in mere seconds.

"H-How are you still alive?" Kasumi asked.

"It's a long story!" The human replied while sprinting back up the stairs. The couple watched at the Human darted through the door again, followed by more gunshots, then silence.

"Gunderson, you're fired." Kasumi said to the Siberian tiger, who swiftly grabbed his unconscious cohort and left. "What are you thinking about dear?" She asked while leaning on Willard.

"He's much more that a human, I remember him from the news broadcast. He was the facilitator of the peace treaty."

"Which means he knows the leader of the humans, or at least works for her." Kasumi added.

"Well, shall we go ask, my dear?" Willard asked.

"Yes."

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

That damn polar bear got two more shots into my chest before I disabled him with an electrical charge from the nanites, and while the wound's would be repaired in seconds, I was no longer as desensitized to pain. I currently sat on an antique looking couch as I removed Gary's equipment from my body, leaving me in nothing but underwear. My solution to this was turning on the hologram; At least I would look like a shirtless, and pant-less wolf. I thought it might be the Ferguson's I heard approaching from behind me, but the fact I was hoisted by the neck proved otherwise.

"You caused me my job, and now you're going to pay for it." The Siberian tiger hissed with his enormous claws extended on the free hand.

"You saw me get shot by three high powered rifle rounds and you think your claws can do a better job, eyy? Go ahead, I'll give you five seconds head start before I rip the spine from your body." I replied calmly. Unlike when I was shot, The nanites in my body had time to move to the outer cells of my skin, creating a protective shell around me. When the tiger raked his claws across my skin, it was no different than scratching concrete. His clawing became more panicked as I counted down from five, and the second I reached one, I ordered the nanites to encase his limbs and force them ridged.

In a rush of sweating, A silvery liquid rushed forth from every facet of my body, completely trapping the tiger to the floor in mere seconds. "Now, what was it I was going to do? Oh yes." I said while dipping my fingers into the liquid holding the tiger down, causing some of it to climb my arm, eventually encasing the whole thing in a thin layer. The moment I retracted my hand from the main pool of nanites, the one's clinging to my arm formed a silvery sword resembling an ancient Katana. Just for added pucker factor, I ordered some of the remaining nanites in my body to cover up both the whites, and iris of my eye, leaving them completely black.

"No. Please, I'm begging you." The tiger cried as I held the tip of the sword over his chest, ready to plunge it in.

"Aww, isn't that sweet, you're begging and I don't care." I said in a falsetto just before raising the blade to insure its complete penetration.

"Could you possibly do the somewhere else? that rug is quite expensive." I heard Mister Ferguson asked from a few feet away.

"... Very well." I said while commanding all the nanites to absorb into my body. "I don't suppose you found Gary yet, he has my clothes." I said while leaning over the terrified tiger.

"Yes-yes, we found him. I'll go get the clothes." He replied before scampering off.

"Why do you look like a wolf instead of a human?" Misses Ferguson asked.

"Well, I stole one of the guard's clothing and it doesn't fit quite right, so I figured it would be better if a wolf wasn't wearing the majority of his clothing compared to a human with the same disposition."

"If you intend to get our permission to marry Jacqueline, you will turn off the disguise." Mister Ferguson said from the couch.

"… It was the smell, wasn't it?" I said just as the final bits of nanite absorbed into my body, allowing me deactivate the hologram. They still couldn't see me as I was behind them, although, I wasn't too keen on being practically naked in front of Jacqueline's parents.

"Yes, yes it was." He replied as I wandered into their view, seating myself on a couch-like chair.

"Hmm, you are quite an interesting creature." Misses Ferguson said with intrigue.

"Gee, thanks. . . What do you want to know about me since you already know my motives?" I asked blaightently.

"Have you had sex with her yet?" Mister Ferguson deadpanned.

"Negative, although she's tried to… _initiate_ it several times."

"Is that so?" He asked with scepticism.

"Yes."

"What is your financial standpoint?" Misses Ferguson asked.

"I'm an independent contractor that works explicitly with the ZPD and other law enforcement agencies. I train people how to fight, shoot, and negotiate. On average, I make one-hundred and eighty thousand dollars a year from that."

"What do you mean 'from that'?" She inquired.

"I also have connections and a business where I'm from, which generates around fifteen million credits per week. In addition to that, I have almost fifty trillion credits amassed within human controlled space, and my sister is the leader of our people."

"So, you're powerful where you come from, because of your sister?" He asked while resting a hand on his muzzle as to think.

"Your question is far too easy to see through. My sister and I used to be admirals in our navy, she was exiled, and eventually formed our current democracy. I came here on an exploratory mission. I'm still technically an enlisted admiral, and I have control of billions of soldiers and personal, but I like living on small scale, so I reside here to protect this planet from humanity. You see, were destructive, manipulative, and selfish as a species."

"Would that apply to you?" He asked.

"I'd like to think not, although I can't answer that, only others can. They say if you live long enough, you'll see everything. I've seen other worlds, other species, other dimensions, other time's, yet I still can't see my own nature, and I probably won't ever see it." I said while looking at my hands, remembering the time when I had the power of the galaxy in my fingertips. Part of me longed to be the Galactic tracker again, probably the selfish side. I like being able to read people's minds, being able to heal anything, go anywhere, do anything I wanted. But the repercussions of living for a thousand years turned me away from those thoughts.

"What do you mean by that? That you've been to other dimensions." She asked.

"Everyone goes to another dimension on a regular basis where I'm from. Most don't even know it. We have a faster than light transportation system called a frame shift drive. It tunnels through something called witch-space, another dimension to our own that is still vastly unknown. What I'm talking about is visitations to entire parallel universes with an infinite number of possibilities."

"Interesting." She said.

"If that's all you have to say on the matter, there's something you're hiding from me."

"I'll admit we are an illusive family. But I still have one more question for you. Do you think our Daughter is happy with you?"

That was a good question. I'd like to think she did, but I'd never asked 'Do you like the way things are?' It just wasn't something that I'd thought about. ". . . I can't answer that." I shamefully answered. "I never asked if she was happy. She seems like it, but I never actually asked." I answered while looking at the floor for a brief moment.

"If I were to say no, what would you do?" Mister Ferguson asked while leaning forward in his chair.

"I would accept your answer, and wait until you changed your mind. Or, if you didn't want me in her life. . . Please excuse me." I said just before whisking myself outside.

* * *

-=Ferguson's Pov=-

"Listen, you made him cry." Kasumi chastened from the other side of the front door.

"If he's so easy to break, I can't imagine he would be a good mate for Jacqueline." Willard replied with a raised eyebrow.

"He's crying _because_ of Jacqueline, he clearly loves her."

"Still, what kind of discrimination would he give to our daughter. It wouldn't be fair for her to live under that kind of berating."

"That is true. I like him, but I'll be behind either choice you make, Dear." Kasumi replied.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

About two minutes into my pitiful weeping, I remembered the nanites could inhibit emotions. Five seconds later, I was cool as a cucumber. While I was answering their questions, I called the car to pull up to the front door, which is where it now sat. sitting on the roof was my clothes neatly folded up, partially covered in snow. After brushing the di-hydrogen monoxide off, I donned the green cargo pants and tan shirt. Back inside the castle, I found the Ferguson's sitting mere inches from their position when I left. "Have you reached a verdict?" I asked with an emotionless expression.

* * *

-=Ella Pov=-

I was more or less patiently waiting for dad to get home. I was positive based on the location of the car's beacon that he went to go see Jacqueline's parents, so I set up a whole thing with balloons and everything. I was waiting on the fridge so I could pounce upon him when he walked through. Instead, once the garage door closed, I heard to sound of muffled wailing.

"Oh no" I mumbled while dropping from the fridge. When I opened the door to the car, I found dad in a pile of his own tears, whimpering away as he convulsed in tune with his breathing. "What happened?" I asked, fully knowing the answer, but thinking I might as well ask anyway. The response I received was a pause in his crying that seemed to last forever. I eventually realized that the pause in his crying was him ceasing tear shedding all together.

"The verdict was given to leave Jacqueline alone, I need to pack." He answered coldly while wiping the tears from his bloodshot eyes.

"THIS IS BULLSHIT!" I Shouted after a few seconds.

"Watch you language, Ella." Dad said while walking in the direction of the basement.

"NO! This isn't fair! You did everything right!"

"That doesn't matter anymore." He replied while opening the titanium basement door. "I'm done with this God forsaken planet, and everyone on it." He said while lifting a block of this strange looking metal from a black container. He took the block to the inside of the Hyperspace ring, inserting it into a slot specifically designed to receive an object of such dimensions.

"What are you doing?"

"Going home where someone will actually care for me. Feel free to come along, but I'm leaving in fifteen minutes." Dad replied while setting the second block in the ring. Slowly but surely, he placed a total of ten blocks into ten slots positioned equally around the ring, and once the last portion was inserted, the ring lit up a bright neon blue with patterns all around it.

"Shit." I hissed just before darting up the stairs to get Jacqueline. When I swung open the door, she was startled awake. "Jacqueline, your parent's told dad he couldn't marry you and now he's lost it, and he's about to go to teleport himself to Earth!" I shouted, which was responded by Jacqueline daring out of the room faster than I thought she could ever move.

When I reached the basement once again, the ring had a brightly glowing blue fluid filling the center, and dad was setting a timer on a cylinder of some kind. Meanwhile, Jacqueline was desperately trying to get him to stop, but it wasn't working.

"I don't care if my parent's don't want you to marry me, I do!"

"Where I'm from, the parent's have the final say in the matter, regardless of how the child feels." Elliot coldly replied while pressing the start button on the timer, which was at ten minutes. "As I told Ella, I'm done with this planet, and I'm about to send it into oblivion. I've just started the timer for my Quirium Cascade mine. In ten minutes, this planet will be consumed by a fission reaction that will in turn destroy the entire solar system, so say goodbye." He said while turning to the portal.

Though I didn't want to, I knew what I had to do. "I'm sorry dad." I whimpered just before firing a railgun into dad's chest, blowing open his ribcage and splattering it over the walls floor, and pretty much everywhere else within fifteen feet.

* * *

-=Present time=-

"Around that point, I'd completely lost my mind. Even though the Nanotechnology was inhibiting my emotions, it had a specific flaw when it came to the administration of serotonin, sending me into an anger clouded chain of actions. My body would've healed itself in about five minutes, and Ella probably knew that when she separated me into three pieces. At first nothing happened, but after about ten seconds or so, my blood began draining to the largest portion of my body, followed by chunks of meat, and organs. Slowly but surely, the nanites reassembled my body right in front of Ella and Jacqueline.

I was still clouded by the anger of Jacqueline's parents denying marriage between us, and all I wanted was to go home to Judith, at least she would take care of me. That was my thought process at the time. I know it's stupid to think of considering I had both a daughter, and Jacqueline trying desperately to convince me of staying, however, I wasn't in the clearest state of mind. I now know why that is though. You might even think I'm crazy for saying this.

Jacqueline's parents were being persuaded by an entity that didn't want me with Jacqueline, the same entity responsible for marooning me out here in the void. It used the nanotechnology in my body to cloud my mind just enough to get me to leave so they could interdict me within the hyperspace jump. I guess it worked a little too well as the planet destroying thing wasn't really a part of it. I suppose you're wanting to know what's been manipulating me from the very beginning of this seven year journey, maybe even further back than that."

* * *

-=Three years ago=-

Once I was reassembled by the nanotech, I simply stood up, and walked towards the portal. Before I reached it, an ever so familiar cloud of embers appeared to the right of my vision. Poof, out came the long since dead Zofia. Before I had a chance to move an inch, Zofia was pinning me to the wall. With a single gaze shift to the Quirium Cascade mine, it was deactivated. "I can't believe you would destroy what you fought so hard to protect not ten years ago. Willing to kill the one you love in the process at that." She said with a glance to Jacqueline.

"You're dead." I hissed.

"I can never die, I am eternal, as you will be one day. I'll admit, Elliot U-0065's sacrifice was quite appreciated, it gave us the energy to survive thus far without needing another sacrifice, but you humans have lost interest in our home, and we can't siphon the energy from their ships anymore."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh, I can't reveal that, now can I?" Zofia chirped with a boop to my nose. "I just need you to deliver eight-hundred tons of quirium to Synuefe XR-H D11-102."

"How the fuck am I supposed to get eight-hundred pounds of Quirium, let alone eight-hundred _tons_ all the way to whatever planet you just named."

"Oh, Elliot. I know you know exactly what's on that planet. Now chop-chop." She chirped while picking up the Quirium cascade mine. "Only one million five-hundred and ninety-nine thousand nine-hundred and ninety nine pounds to go Crawford." Zofia said before disappearing into a cloud of burning embers.

* * *

-=Present time=-

"Seriously, how the hell was I supposed to get that much Quirium to a moon out in the middle of nowhere. I never finished delivering it, and I supposed that's why I'm talking to this microphone as I float around a black hole in decaying orbit. You need to know, stay away from that moon, destroy the entire system from a neighboring one if you can. . .

The Monolith network is still active."

* * *

 **A/N: Now don't get all snippy about Elliot and Jacqueline's** **marriage. I'm almost done screwing with them.**


	19. Chapter 19: Escalation

_Chapter Ninteen: Escalation_

 _Between an uncontrolled escalation and passivity, there is a demanding road of responsibility that we must now follow._

* * *

"Well… my time's running out. I think I have about a day, maybe two before I run out of life support. Three days if that holds out until I'm sucked into the black hole. Ya-know, I've only been in orbit for a few days now, just long enough to tell my story and slingshot it into the stars. But it's been years for everyone else since I started recording this voice message of sorts… I wonder if Ella's married now?

Anyway, I've been pondering what will happen after I die. I lived in one of the most pivotal moments in human… probably galactic history. It might be the last chapter. We rediscovered Quirium hyperspace, found another sentient species, and finally waged war against the Guardians… or what remained of their society at least. But what's left of humanity and the thargoids might not survive. Even with our combined forces and the guidance of Starfire, we barely defeated them, pushing both our species to the brink of extinction."

* * *

-=Three years earlier=-

The moment Zofia disappeared into a cloud of burning embers, my mind started to clear and I began to realize what I was going to do. All three of us stood in complete silence, par for the humming of the Hyperspace gate readying to send me home. There was just one problem. "I… I'm too dangerous to stay here." I proclaimed. "This is for the best." I added just before leaping into the blue liquid.

Just as when I journeyed to Raxxla all those years ago, I found my body incapable of moving and my vision filled with darkness. After awhile, the darkness started blowing on me with a gentle breeze, eventually giving way to the sight of a purple lightning cloud. I simply closed my eyes, observing the flashes of light on my eyelids until the lightning subsided. When I opened my eyes, I was laying face up in a very fancy looking room covered in polished marble. As I sat up, I realized that I'd been diverted from my intended destination; I wasn't on Earth, but rather Achenar 6D, the former Empire's capital world, and the home of the extinct Lunovians. That was obvious from the blue star shining in between the pillars of the palace.

"Hand in the air." I heard a feminine voice command along side the sound of a Condensed plasma accelerator charging.

"Dammit Aisling, put the gun down." I said while facing the Emperor with wavy blue hair and a flowing dress.

"Elliot? Elliot Crawford?"

"No, Elliot Stratum. Who else would it be? I asked while standing up. "I need your fastest ship, I have to talk with-" My sentence was interrupted by the sight of a lightless sphere about eight feet in diameter appearing a few feet off the ground. "They didn't." I muttered with annoyance.

"Who didn't what?"

"Don't freak out by what's about to come through that hyperspace gateway."

"I could care less, were under attack by an unknown force. The planet's been surrounded, and the only thing keeping us alive is your Farragut interdictor. It hasn't even taken down the enemies shields, and the Flamestone cannon can't work with active shields." She stated. It was in that moment I realized all her antsy wiggling was not because of me.

"What are you talking about?"

"A-A fleet of warships jumped into the system a few hours ago, ships the size of five coralis stations. We tried to hold them off, but you weren't there like with the thargoids... This is our final stand, all communications are cut off." She said solemnly.

"Wonderful." I mumbled just before two flashes of light pulsed from the light distorting sphere, followed by one snow leopard and one Arctic fox falling from it's confines.

"What are those?" Aisling asked while raising her glowing weapon to a low ready position.

" _Those_ , are my daughter and girlfriend. Why they came here, I do not know."

"Eww, you're dating an animal?" She asked with a cringe.

"For you information-" Ella grumbled while stumbling to her feet. "They prefer the term mammals. It's really stupid. DAD, What the hell was that!?" She shrieked upon meeting my gaze.

"Uhh, Elliot… are these Raxxlans?"

"That would seem obvious, no?"

"I'm just making sure, okay." She said before doing a graceful bow with a slight leg bend. "My name is Aisling Duval, Emperor of the Empire, and one of three executives in the Human Defense Forces.."

"DAD!"

"What? I'm in the middle of something."

"You almost blew up our planet! I THINK THIS TAKES PRESCIENCE!"

"Fine, I'm sorry. Now apparently humanity is under attack, so give me a second."

"UGH!" She squawked before stomping over to Jacqueline.

"Did you really almost blow up a planet?" Aisling asked as she leaned in closer to my ear.

"It's a long story. Have you tried to contact the assaulting forces?"

"Oh I didn't think of that, you're so smart." She chirped while giving me a deathly stare. "That was the first thing we did, every electromagnetic spectrum, even a few physical canisters with writing on them."

"No response?" I muttered.

"No response." She confirmed.

"Well… Maybe they'll still think I'm the Galactic tracker." I said while walking towards the nearest light source filtering through the massive columns lining the palace.

"Elliot, you come back here." Jacqueline hissed while attempting to stand.

"Sorry, I have a planet to save… this planet, not yours." I added moment's before running off with Aisling. The moment we set foot outside her palace, I realized the gravity of the situation. There were several flaming wrecks of a majestic class interdictor's crashed into the city, and the Farragut Interdictor looming over what was left had several fires bursting out of its hull. Nevertheless, it was fighting the best it could. Three of the four, class seven railguns were completely destroyed, and their multi-kilometer electromagnetic rails were simply dangling from the support and cooling cables like pendulums. Only a few of the imperial beam drivers were still firing their deep blue thermal beams, and just like the Imperial beam drivers, most Federal naval guns were inactive, unable to sling their meter wide autocannon rounds at the enemy. On an upside, The class three, turreted pulse laser flack was still operational, however, it was desperately attempting to shoot down enemy fighter's praying on their own f-39 prototype counterparts. There were thousands of fighters in the air, although most of them were strange looking white spheres that seemed to dart every which way, almost taunting us with their maneuverability.

As for the enemy ships, they were more or less completely fine. Black ships with unusual curves and angles, sporting weaponry I'd never see before loomed over the Farragut Interdictor like a predator cornering its prey. Most of the armament was energy based, I could see that much. But as for what the black beams of light actually were, I hadn't the slightest. As if waiting for my arrival, the Farragut Interdictor tilted forty-five degrees clockwise, firing it's one remaining railgun into an enemy ship. The one point four by seven meter rail struck the enemy ship with an ear defining boom, however once the cobalt powder settled, I could see it was merely absorbed by a white shield rippling from the impact.

In return, one of the smaller turreted weapons on the enemy ship trained on my capital ship, followed by a dark glow of particles being drawn towards the weapon's muzzle. Now, I need to emphasize 'smaller'. It wasn't small, in fact it was larger than any weapon I'd seen before today, yet it was one of the smallest weapons on board the enemy ship.

"The Iwu. It has to be them." I said just before the mystery weapon fired, completely blowing off the class seven railgun from it's mounting point. Watching the multi-hundred ton rail plummet to the earth below was as if watching a stick fall in slow motion, simply because of the distance at which the ships were fighting combined with how large the EM rail actually is.

"What's the Iwu?' Aisling asked as the spot where the railgun was attached burst into a torrent of fire.

"A race of hyper-intelligent beings I thought were a ploy to subdue me." I replied as one of the larger weapons on the enemy ship deployed from within it's housing. I was completely helpless as the weapon slewed toward the reactor section of the Farragut interdictor.

"No." I whispered as the weapon charged to fire. The moment those reactors were breached, almost forty-thousand men and women would be killed. I wasn't the only one to realize what was about to happen. Aisling's worrisome expression changed to one of dejection at the sight of my ship's demise… only, it never fired. The weapon remained charged for what seemed like an eternity, almost as if the captain aboard their ship was debating a show of mercy.

"Give me your rifle." I ordered.

"What are you going to do with that?" She asked hopelessly.

"Dad? What's happening?" Ella asked from behind me.

"It looks to be our demise, Darling. I'm just doing what I can, how fruitless that may be." I said while raising the weapon to fire. With a few pulls of the trigger, the spheres of ionized gas impacted the impregnable shields of the enemy ship. I well knew it would do nothing, however, I had to test something.

"Aisling, is the Messenger's communications system still online?" I asked as a plan formed in my head.

"Only planetary."

"That's all I need, get them on the horn, I have an idea." I said not three seconds before Aisling reached out and touched her hand to my cheek, sending a wave of communications information through my brain.

"Captain Paterus, Admiral Crawford is on the line." Aisling said, which was relayed directly into my brain.

"Admiral, sorry about the ship, I think it's done for." Paterus replied over the sounds of electrical crackling.

"Are the Flamstone cannons still online?" I asked, which was relayed through Aisling's body, then to to the ship.

"Yes, but without the enemy shields offline, we can't target their ships."

"Don't target the ship's, target the planet. If We're going to die, so are they."

"... That's one way of doing it I suppose. By your command, Admiral." Paterus responded before ending the transmission.

"Since when did you have a transmitter in your head?" I asked.

"Since we developed a new generation of nanotechnology." She responded with a smirk, which quickly faded into a frown. "So, I'm going to die now, I guess."

"I'm hoping the person in charge of the enemy ship see's this will destroy them as well as us." I said just before a familiar orange glow emanated from the bow of the ship, which was now angling toward the ground by about twenty degrees.

"He's ready to fire." Duval said while looking off into space.

After about twenty seconds of the enemy ships continuing their barrage, I reached the flashpoint. "Fire."

"Do it." She said into the air, causing the Flamestone cannon to pulse two beams of orange towards the ground below. Instantly, two of the enemy fighters zipped in front of the beams, taking the hit and effectively dashing our chance to destroy the enemy ships. As both fighters burst into a fission reaction, Ella grasped my free hand with one of her much smaller paws.

"At least you tried." She mumbled while looking up at me.

I realized right then and there that I was mentally unstable, not because my mind was mush, but because of the nanotechnology inside my body. Seeing my daughter lifted the fog clouding my mind, and if I was going to die, it was going to be with a sound state of mind, whether my dopamine stopped being produced or not. "Duval, can you help me remove the nanites?"

"Why would you want to?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.

"There malfunctioning from some kind of interference."

"Well… If you say so." She said just before pulling me into a hug, followed by her more advanced nanites invading my body to remove what was already within each and every cell. It was the weirdest sensation of both cold, and warm as the silvery liquid washed over my body, absorbing directly into my skin like lotion.

"So, I'm fixed now? Just like that."

"It's not like it matters, but yes, just like that."

"I can't believe I've had this problem for years, and fifteen minutes since returning to human space, I'm healed for good."

"Well believe it; Devin says you're fine. . . I don't know how you survived with such archaic nanotech in your body for more than a few hours to be honest. Their power source is highly unstable." She replied.

"It's not all that bad. Besides, it was actually only for about fifteen hours in total."

"Whatever you say… So, why'd you come back?" She asked while walking into the palace at a leisurely pace.

"I miss human interaction, it's not normal being all alone like that, and I could tell I was on the brink of a meltdown, perhaps that's why I tried to blow up the planet."

"Elliot, you had us the whole time, that's hardly being alone." Jacqueline interjected with crossed arms once she caught up to us.

"It's not the same, okay. Humans need human interaction. I just didn't want to bother you with it or the nightmares." I said while seating myself with my back against one of the large supporting pillars inside the palace.

"What nightmares?" She asked with worry.

"It's not important, we're about to die after all." I replied as I closed eyes, simultaneously feeling around my pocket for a cobalt blue box, about the size of a tangerine.

"Fine, let's talk about my parents then." She said with annoyance.

"I can't marry you, your parents forebode it. Simple as that."

"I don't care what my parents say. I'm a grown ass female."

"Jacqueline, may I ask you something in private?" Aisling asked tenderly.

"Fine. This discussion isn't over." Jacqueline hissed with an accusing finger point as she walked away with Duval.

"Why don't you just marry her, it's a stupid tradition to ask for permission?" Ella commented from right beside me

"It's not just my philosophy. Even though it might be strange, most of the human race has adopted this mentality. When it reappeared as a popular gesture of respect, I don't know. It's prevalence is well known in all aspects of life, be you a murderer, soldier, engineer, everyone seems to have this respect… It's like, how most everyone agrees to give the police authority, it's just the way things are. I know it's not the best example, but that's the best I can think of."

"Humans are stupid." Ella mumbled with crossed arms.

"Humans created you, Darling." I stated matter-of-factually.

"… They're still stupid."

* * *

-=Aisling Duval Pov=-

"What is it?" The Raxxlan feline asked with irritation.

"I'm going to give you a brief history lesson about our culture. About three or so hundred years ago, it became very popular for people to ask for permission in marriage and that lives on today with about thirty-five percent of the population opting to go about it in this way. The reason for this is most people's life-span is well into the two-hundreds thanks to progenitor cell injections."

"Wait… how old are you?"

"Oh, I'm only fifty-six."

"But, according to your textbooks you look around the age of twenty."

"Yep, combination of the progenitor cells and nanotechnology, I was planning on dying in a thousand years since there's no real limit to how old I can get. Look, our estimated population is around ten or twelve trillion, a third of that is still three trillion people. Take of another half for sexual divide and you have one and a half trillion people asking permission for marriage."

"Grrr… Fine, I get it. I have a question though. If most people live to be over two-hundred-" She said with a glance to Elliot. "How long will he live?"

"It's hard to say, when I fixed his body, Devin did a scan of his cells. There's still something peculiar about them, almost like he's not entirely human." I said with a blank stare.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, it's probably nothing." I answered as I donned a smile.

* * *

-=Elliot Pov=-

 **(Thorin Loeks - Break Free)**

Ella and I talked for awhile, mostly about me proposing to Jacqueline. I ended up showing her the rings, which only egged the vixen on in her pursuit to have a mother. The enemy ship still hadn't fired it's weapon, and it almost seemed like the enemy fighters stopped firing as well. All gunfire I could hear was from our side, and I suppose in our desperation for survival we didn't realize the aliens stopped the slaughter.

By the time Aisling returned with Jacqueline, Ella finished snaking an ideology into my mind, completely convincing me that asking permission was stupid. Internally, I was having a battle over which belief would win. There was the part of me that wanted to follow my heritage, but the other part still loved Jacqueline, and really wanted to tell her parents to stuff it. It's probably cliché, but the entire time I had the song that goes 'I'm gonna marry her anyway' stuck in my head. It wasn't like the Ferguson's were unreasonable in their decision; Their reason for denying my request was due to the discrimination and beration she would receive for marrying an alien. It wasn't a senseless reason, although I tried to point out that so far she'd only received questioning glances.

I didn't notice it at first, but when I took the wedding ring back from Ella, I could see my hand was shaking uncontrollably and I had this strange feeling in my stomach I'd never felt before.

" _*gasp*_ Is my father actually nervous?"

"Is that what this is? Because it's the worst feeling I think exists." I said while closing the cobalt blue box.

"What's the worst feeling?" Jacqueline asked as she walked towards me. Lickity-split, the blue box was tossed under the edge of my shirt as to not create suspicion from stuffing something into my pocket.

"Being nervous. I've been anxious before, but this is awful." I said while lifting one of my hands out as to show it's shaking.

"Wow, you're actually afraid of dying?" Aisling asked with a shit-eating grin, fully knowing what I was really nervous about.

"Something like that." I replied while clutching my shaking hand with the other as to cease its movement.

"Ffffffffffuck it." I muttered.

"What?" Jacqueline asked.

Before I had the chance to respond, a single flash of lightning, which arced to the surrounding area generated in the center of the palace. When the lightning settled, I found a human woman with dark brown hair and golden irises standing before us. "On behalf of Starfire, Aisling Duval, you are sentenced to death." She said while aiming the most peculiar looking handgun at the Emperor.

"You listen here you creepy fuck." I seethed through clenched teeth while standing. "I don't care what your orders are, but you're going to shut the hell up for thirty seconds." I said while stomping within inches of the mystery woman, who was presumably an Iwu judging from her strange weaponry. The look on her face was one of those that said 'I could totally kill you, but you have balls so I won't.'

"Thirty seconds… Galactic Tracker." She responded with a sly smile.

"Jacqueline." I blurted while whipping around to face the feline in pajamas. At that point, I decided to pull the blue box from my shirt, although I kept it clutched within my hand with white knuckles. "I… I'm terrible at semantics, but here goes. You have made me happy when no one else could. I still remember the day when I woke up in the hospital, and you didn't run away from me. I also remember Kate squealing like a little girl…. And killing seven animals- _ANYWAY_. You helped me when was hurting. . .I-I got nothing else." I said with a nervous scratch to my head.

"Jacqueline Ferguson-" I added while falling to one knee. "Will you marry me even though your parents don't want me to?" I asked while holding out the sweat soaked box, opening it for her to see the graphite ring inside.

"It took you long enough." She replied before slamming her body into mine.

* * *

-=Present time=-

"So there was the second happiest moment in my life, only coming short of being rescued from five years of torture. I'll leave this message off at that, I really need to piss. But before I go, a message for my family.

Ella, I hope you found a husband by now, maybe even had little genetically enhanced kits of your own.

Jacqueline, Know I'll love you till the end of time. SImple as that.

Also, If by chance you ever get this message, tell our son I said hi, and that if he doesn't take good care of Violet, I'll haunt him to the grave." I said before shutting down the recorder.

"Only two days until I find out where a black hole takes all that matter." I said into the cabin of my Asp Voyager while looking at the lightless wall of gravity. "I wonder If I'll even finish this in time." I said in reference to the audio messages I've been sending out into the void of space. Hopefully someone left in our species would find the messages and catalog them. Being stuck in a time distortion like this wasn't very fun. I knew that every hour I spent in my time was almost twenty years in normal time, meaning that I'd never really get a chance to see my family again.

The thought of really being marooned out in space, sending out a distress beacon while knowing it would be hundreds of years before it ever reached anyone brought me into a self-pitying sob fest. I was almost reaching the one week point in my decaying orbit, meaning that I was almost two millennia old if my time distortion algorithm was correct.

"They're probably all dead anyway…" I cried out while resting my snobbery face in my palms.

* * *

 **A/N: Welp, I'm on the brink of a choice about the sex. I have one review from a guest that made me chuckle. 'Yes party in the bead!' I thought that spelling error was funny.**

 **As for the other two, thanks for the input. I know this one is short, but it's left off at a good spot I think... and you got two other chapters yesterday.**

 **Remember, though the story seems nearing an ending, Elliot is recapping thee more years of his history, but will he be able to finish relaying the information in time? maybe, maybe not depending on my level of shenanigans.**


	20. Chapter 20: A War Of The Ages

_Chapter Twenty: A War Of The Ages._

 _Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; It removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood._

* * *

"I'm really not wanting to do this voice log right now, but I've realized my rate of decay is increasing, and I only have a day tops. If my voice seems a bit hoarse, it's because I've come to realize I'm over two thousand years old to everyone else…. which means the only living family I might have left are descendants of my son or daughter. For the sake of getting the true history out, I'll have to condense some of it. I apologize for that, but I think if you look around long enough, you'll figure out the rest of what happened to our species."

* * *

-=Three years ago=-

The instant Jacqueline smashed her face into mine, I felt en electrical feeling run throughout my body. It was as if my love for her was renewed and reset to it's simplest form.

"Aww, Elliot. You're finally married now." The Iwu woman chirped, earning a disengage of my kissing.

"Who are you?" I asked, fully expecting to die any moment, but not giving a shit about it.

"Aww C'mon, don't be like that, _Elliot."_ The way she said my name was quite familiar, however, I couldn't pinpoint it.

"Sorry, I'm pulling a blank."

"Ugh, finnnneee. It's Martha zero-one." She said with a smirk.

Without another word, I stood up and approached the woman, slowly circling her with scrutinous eyes. She seemed completely human except for those golden irises. I knew amber was a rare color, but this was clearly golden. "I don't believe you." I said upon finishing my exam.

"Ugh. I knew this would happen. I'll just have to take you to Starfire." She said just before grabbing my shoulder with so much force I instantly collapsed to the ground from pain.

"AHH-HAHAHA!. . . I think you broke my Acromion." I coughed out while grasping my shoulder with the opposing arm.

"Crap, I forgot how fragile you are." She said with concern while falling to her knees above me. She reached out her hand to touch my shoulder, but it never contacted me due to Ella drop kicking the Iwu in the side of the head. In the process of this, she somehow retrieved the strange handgun.

"Don't you come near my father." She hissed at the completely surprised woman. As if the Iwu was waiting for something like this, two more pulses of lightning emerged behind her. From ionized gas emerged two more identical women, only one had blue eyes and the other had green.

"You're clones. That's great." I muttered as I stumbled to my feet.

"Hey Elliot." The one with blue eyes said while waving exuberantly. "It's Martha zero-three." She chirped.

"Really now. I would just ask you a question only the Martha's would know, but I'm assuming you have neural mapping equipment." I said while feeling around my throbbing shoulder, which sure enough was broken.

"Elliot, Come here." Aisling beckoned. Once I reached her position through backstepping, she rested a hand on my shoulder, and started pouring out a silver liquid. Once again, her nanotechnology invaded my body, repairing the bone in my shoulder within seconds.

"Elliot, Starfire requests your presence, and if you don't comply she's going to destroy the Messenger." The Iwu with green eyes claimed. Welp, there was a pretty compelling reason to go with them. It wouldn't be the first time information was attempted to be extracted, at least that's what I was assuming they were going to do to me.

"If you hurt anyone else, I will make it my mission in life to kill you." I said with odium while walking towards the three identical women. When I turned back to face my companions, I could see that they knew I was doing what was necessary.

"Please don't break me this time." I said as one of them reached for my shoulder, only lightly holding it.

"It was an accident, okay. I forgot how strong these bodies are." The one with golden eyes claimed.

"Sure it was." I said just before my body felt like it was being pumped with Adrenalin. In a flash of light, I was in a white, polished cube of a room, about ten feet in every direction. The light illuminating the space seemed to be coming from the walls themselves as there were no lights present.

"Great, in a prison cell again." I muttered just before an air pressurized door opened with a hiss behind me.

"Hey dude." I heard a male voice say. When I turned to face the entity, I found Alex standing in front of me.

It took me about two seconds before I simply raised an eyebrow. "You expect this to work?"

"Well, considering there's nothing to 'work' I guess… no then?"

"I'm not an idiot, Alex would never let this happen." I replied with crossed arms.

"Well, to be fair, I was against this, but Starfire said it was necessary to get you to come back. I guess she was right."

"Okay, first. I came here because I tried to blow up the planet with a Quirium mine. Now I've got both you, and Zoifa to deal with, so chances are that we're going to go extinct."

"… Idiot." He replied with annoyance. "There's no reasonable justi-"

"Jacqueline's parents denied me." I interrupted, causing a silent 'oh' to escape Alex's mouth.

"Still, that's not okay… Look, I'm going to get to the point. The same being that created Ella and I created this fleet, and millions of other ships just like it in the Scutum-Centaurus arm. You may not believe me now, but Starfire and Sam are one in the same. When you let her upgrade herself all those years ago, she took full advantage of it. I believe you two should talk." He said while stepping aside to reveal an exact clone of my dead mother.

Almost instantaneously my eyes welled with tears at seeing her. "I'm going to destroy whatever galaxy you sick fucks came from." I said while staring at the clone.

"Elliot. I know I'm not your real mother, But I raised you as my child. This is something no brain scan, no information hunting, no anything could uncover unless I took care of you. Mệt mỏi, rỉ sét, lò, ban ngày, mười bảy, lành tính, chín, nhà đến, một, vận tải hàng hóa." The woman said, instantly causing my body to fall limp and flashes of pictures block out my vision. I saw places I'd been and felt feelings that were not my own coursing through my mind… feelings of love.

Although I was quite scared that I couldn't move my body, I began feeling a caring comfort come over my body, as If someone was holding me tight. Yet, I wasn't being touched at all. I was limp on the pearly white floor with pictures of myself flashing in my vision, most of which I was smiling in them. I don't smile.

"How are you doing this?" I asked with fear. Though there could be numerous ways of making me go limp, but I was not aware of a way to make me see and feel things without some kind of nanotechnology.

"When you were only a baby, I showed you a set of pictures that had data encoded into them. You would never remember them, but they would lie in wait for me to activate them when the right time came. For when something like this happened."

I was very conflicted at that moment. There was a small voice in my head that said it was really Sam, but I didn't want to just go with the flow like nothing happened. As I thought about it some more, what difference did it make. We were clearly helpless against what Alex claimed to be Sam, or Starfire as she now went by.

"I'm going to do it like this." I started to say while sitting up, albeit shakily. "Because we don't really have a way of beating you, I'm just going to have to believe you. BUT, as for you looking like my mother… no, just no." I grumbled.

"Very well." My mother said just before molding into another figure.

"You're not even biological."

"Oh darling, biological computers can't keep up with my processing speed."

"… I need to know why you opened fire on this planet, cut off their communications, and practically destroyed a third of the human navy?" I asked with irritation.

"… Well." She said squeamishly. "I needed to get you here somehow, and I also need to remove the current government."

"You're planning to kill my sister then?"

"NO! I meant the previous government she allowed to continue their rolls."

"Yeah, how about you don't do that. They have influence and the people respect them. You would become public enemy number one in minutes."

"Oh, that doesn't matter when I've built a fleet big enough to match the human population."

"Peace through violence, gee, that sounds familiar." I muttered.

"I'm not the Federation, Elliot." Sam griped with her hands on her hips.

"Whatever. We'll see in time…. Can I go back now?"

"But you just got here. Don't you want to see the ship?"

"I'd rather spend time with my fiance before you take me off wherever you take me."

"… When did you propose, last time I checked on you, her parents denied your request." She replied with confusion.

I was kinda pissed at that. Let's say for a minute that Starfire really is Sam, and she's been watching my every move for years. Imagine your mother watching you twenty-four seven, it's pretty much identical. "YOU WERE WATCHING ME!?"

"Of course I was, I care about you. Do you know how many military extraction forces I had to eliminate to keep you safe?" She asked with indignance.

I hadn't really thought about that. I just figured the Military forces were honoring our agreement to leave each other alone, but the jets that tried to intercept me was from a rogue agent or something. I didn't really have an answer for Sam's question, so I remained silent as I stared at the brown eyed, white haired women gazing back at me.

"Look, I didn't wait all this time to reveal my fleet just because I wanted to. I figured out what the Guardians and the Scout really are, and for now, let's just say they're being untruthful as to their nature and purpose. I don't want to trouble you since you finally pulled the trigger with Jacqueline… only took you seven years, not quite double how long it took in the simulation, but whatever….. Can I have a hug before I send you back?" She asked doubtfully.

Honestly, at this point if whatever this AI was, Sam or not, if it wanted to hurt me it wouldn't matter if I was hugging it or not. "I guess." I replied as a bright smile lit up on her face. With a moment of hesitance, Sam wrapped her arms around my neck and under the armpit, which I replicated. She held onto me for a little while, but I quickly found myself not enjoying the hug. "Okay, that's enough."

"Go have fun my child." Sam whispered just before my eyesight was blinded by another flash of lightning. Once my pupils stopped being blind, I realized I was back in the palace, yet no one was in the palace ballroom.

"I'm betting you can hear me right now." I mumbled into the air, referring to Sam. "AISLING! YOU IN HERE!?" I shouted into the massive room, causing a few echos in response. After waiting for a few minutes, I began wandering aimlessly around the palace in search of anyone, yet it was completely deserted so far. The palace itself was enormous, so it was entirely possible that I would never find them if they were also roaming about the facility. On several occasions I looked outside and found something being done to the destroyed Majestic class Interdictors, almost like they were being repaired. The plumes of black smoke billowing from the Farragut interdictor, and the city below was almost non-existent at this point, and I was wondering if Sam aided in any way. I was still perplexed at that whole thing with Sam. Why would she possibly feel compelled to attack the Empire's homeworld since everyone was put under one banner, the H.D.F, which Judith was the leader of. It was very peculiar indeed.

I wandered for probably an hour, finding nothing more than empty halls, and certain areas of the palace that were besieged. Eventually night fell, and I still hadn't found anyone within the palace; My reason for not leaving the palace was my complete lack of geographical information. Nevertheless, there was this mountain range off in the distance that was almost drawing me towards it; It was very hard to describe, but I really wanted to just wander off into the hills for some reason. Since it was night time I decided against this, opting to find a bed instead. I didn't really care who's bed it was, I was going to be sleeping in it.

"Where could've they gone?" I wondered aloud. I suppose after I was taken they could have retreated into a bunker somewhere.

I hadn't bothered to remove any of my clothes other than my shoes and socks when I laid under the covers of a royal bed. I don't know what they made it with, but it was heavenly compared to my normal bed. Just as I was reaching to flick off the light, a cloud of burning embers formed right next to the bed. "Ugh… Fuck off Zofia, I'm trying to sleep." I whined moments before the mentioned party actually appeared.

"Oh, now is that how you treat friends?" She asked with a pouty face.

"I don't call our relationship friendly." I responded while rolling my back to face her. "Just get on with it." I muttered.

"What did the AI tell you?" She asked sternly.

"Ahh, so It wasn't lying. You really are being untruthful."

"Elliot, that's an Iwu ship, I tried to warn you about this, but you wouldn't listen." She responded with annoyance.

"I really don't care anymore, and I'm not going to be able to get you that Quirium, so you might as well kill me now."

"Oh please, I know you can muster up the resources for it."

"We're producing one pound per hour, twenty four hours a day. Even with all three years, and let's say a double in production that's still only fifty-two thousand pounds."

"What if I were to help your factories production efficiency?" She asked, almost as if this Quirium was something she couldn't live without.

"Go cowboy up and deal with the problem you started, leave me out of it." I mumbled. Moments later I was forcefully pulled to face Zofia.

"I'm trying to be nice to you, Elliot. I can be far less kind if you don't even try to get me that Quirium." She said while holding up the ring I gave to Jacqueline. "It's never good to set up roots, Elliot, you become vulnerable to attack." She smirked.

"You leave her out of this." I seethed. "Only a true monster uses family to get to someone."

"I guess I'm the big bad monster then. I'll keep them in good condition as-" Zofia stopped mid sentence and completely let go of me. She began looking around the room as if another person were pacing about it, but there way only one thing going through my mind. Jacqueline and Ella… and Aisling, but she was an acceptable loss.

"Well my dear human, I really must be going." Zofia said once she snapped out of scouring the room.

"No." I said while shooting my hand out to her wrist. For some reason I felt my body full of electricity, not in the painful way, but an invigorating spunk kind of way. The closest thing I can compare it to was when I fired the Gamma radiation infused Dark energy into the Thargoid capital ship almost a decade ago.

"I suggest you let go of me, Elliot. You don't have the powers you once possessed." Zofia said while creating a sphere of light sucking energy in her free hand. Reluctantly, I knew I would be incinerated by what I once controlled, so I let her wrist go. Not the second I let go, she disappeared into a cloud of fiery embers.

"What, no witty remark!? No to-da-loo!?" I shouted into the empty room before breaking down into tears. Just like that, my family was ripped away without a trace. I slowly curled up into a ball on the bed as my crying picked up pace, however, it was drowned out by a flash of lightning in the center of the white marble room. "Fuck off." I hissed in between my hiccups.

Instead of whoever came through the portal leaving, they wrapped their arms around my chest, and started hugging me tightly. "It's going to be okay, Elliot. I found them." Sam cooed into my ear. "The Monolith network spent too much time talking with you, and I found its mainframe."

"I am going to give you exactly five seconds to get you fucking mitts off me, and leave. If you don't, I will leave." I said while activating a plasma edged knife millimeters away from my throat.

* * *

-=One hour later, Alex pov=-

My job in the fleet was simple. All I did was sit around and do next nothing all day. With the Ai's running everything, there was no reason for me to do anything other than let them run autonomously. Sure I was technically the highest ranking officer in Starfire's navy, but I couldn't ever keep pace with her computer armies. The knew this, although still respected me fully… I even started hitting on one of the drone commanders. It didn't really work since she was so much smarter than me, but she appreciated the compliments nonetheless.

I was currently watching the speedy reconstruction of all the Human ships, although when Starfire popped out of thin air with her special hyperspace thingy, I found Elliot struggling profusely while shouting in one of his languages.

"Ase me na fýgo, Fýlakas kommáti apó skatá!" He screamed with puffy red eyes.

"Sam?" I asked with confusion.

"Just a minute!" She shouted in return before shoving Elliot into a white containment chamber. "Elliot thinks I'm either the Monolith network itself, or the imaginary race of Iwu that's invading and exterminating every living thing. . . He refuses to listen to anyone." She added with desolation while staring at Elliot through the one way wall; Inside, he was struggling to escape the straitjacket, and it seemed he was making headway.

"What happened to him?" I asked with worry for my friend.

"… The Monolith network kidnapped Ella, Jacqueline, and Aisling Duval."

"And he thinks you did it." I said grimly, earning a slow nod from Starfire.

"Can you get them back?"

"I won't matter..." She started to say with sadness. "Elliot will just think it's another ploy to get at him."

"Fuck, he's that messed up?"

"Yes… I shouldn't have interdicted him from the hyperspace destination." She mumbled moments before Elliot broke free of the white strafe jacket, immediately standing up, running to one side and slamming his head into the wall at full speed. "Shit." Sam muttered before rushing into the room, quickly restraining Elliot again.

I was confused as to how my best friend would ever lose his mind, let alone in the span of a day. Once Starfire finished tying Elliot up with a different restraint system, she exited the room and began staring at him again. "Was he trying to-" I started to asked.

"Yes, he already shot himself in the liver, heart, and right lung. Before that, he tried to slice his throat with a plasma knife.

* * *

-=Present time, Elliot Pov=-

"Yeah…. I was pretty messed up. Listen, I hope you don't mind, but I'd rather not share any more of that part. So, moving on, I was kept in that holding cell for a few weeks, and I found it odd how I never became hungry, or had to use the bathroom. That being said, I was restrained by some kind of energy, almost like force field, but intricately woven around my body.

At the time I was convinced that everyone was out to get me. With all I'd seen in my life, it was almost impossible to determine if someone was actually my friend, or just another clone. I remember Sam, or Starfire as she now goes by, trying desperately to break through to me with simple conversation. There were a few occasions where I almost gave into her pleading. The entire time we were moving through space, although I didn't know where we were headed to

I do remember some of what sounded like battles raging, although the cell I was in had excellent sound dampening properties. I would've considered myself clinically insane at the time, but what I eventually turned into from complete paranoia was downright saddening. I don't know how long in total I was in the cell, but it must've been at least a year from my counting of how many times I went to sleep.

 _*sigh*….._ I'm starting to get all depressed again, so I'm going to skip that whole year." I said with a rub to one of my tired eyes.

"After what seemed like countless battles in space and on gravity holding bodies, I remember the day a Thargoid was brought into the room with me."

* * *

-=Two years ago=-

I was tired, not physically, but mentally. The only contact I had with anything was with Starfire, and that wasn't really a conversation. I tried to get information about what we were fighting in space, but she… it, wouldn't tell me anything. I was ready to go to bed for the four-hundredth time, however there was a flash of lightning in the room, followed by a Thargoid emerging. Humanoid in shape, covered in a hard yet slender Exo-skeleton of a brown hue, and had those creepy compound eyes. Its head was more triangular like a praying mantis. I'd never seen a Thargoid in person, so this was quite the sight. It also seemed like the Thargoid hadn't ever seen a human before as it was staring right at me… well, it's head was pointed at me, but I couldn't actually see what it was focusing on… or whatever.

"Mholweni." The Thargoid said with a waving gesture. In return, I simply tugged at my restraints, revealing a blue wave-like field wash over my body. "Ingaba u ntshunxekile?" It asked while approaching me with caution.

"Sorry, I don't speak bug." I said in all four languages I knew, just in case it knew one of the others as well.

"You speak Daurilian?" It asked to my completely bemusement.

"Yeah, how'd you learn it?"

"They're system is in close proximity with ours, so a lot of us learn it. it's so far away from you though, why would you learn it?"

"My fiancee is Daurilian, my daughter is Daurilian, I live on Daurilia… understand now?" I asked in a grumble.

The Thargoid seemed to be in complete deliberation for a good minute or two before it responded with a worrisome tone. "I remember the warnings of a human with the power of the Gods that lived there. They said it destroyed our mainstay capital ship in a single blow."

"That'd be me."

"Are you… how do you say… lokubulala. . . This." It said while shooting an imaginary gun.

"Kill? Like, shoot someone?"

"Yes, yes. . . Are you going to kill me?"

"Not like I really can." I said with another tug at the force field restraints.

"Oh. Well, my name is Kehx. I'm the leader of our people… was the leader of our people." Kehx said glumly.

"What happened?"

"This human female came into our territory, and started destroying everything with what we thought was an improved Mycoid virus. If your captor hadn't come, we would be extinct by now."

"Oh, I see… you're just another one of her clones trying to convince me that she's not the bad guy."

* * *

-=Present time=-

"I can't do this. Partially because I can't relive the stupidity, and partially because I'm running out of time, and I'd like to end this where I want to, not where a black hole decides to end it. If I have time, I'll come back and explain what happened in better detail, but for now. This will need to suffice.

What Kehx was saying was the truth. Starfire did save their species from the brink of extinction. She rallied both the Thargoids and us Humans to travel to about a dozen systems scattered around the galaxy, and attack a specific target on a specific planet when she _specifically_ said to… was that specific enough for you?" I asked with a small grin.

"At the time, I was starting to realize that I was not mentally well, although there was nothing to do about it other than let me figure it out through trust building exercises… how cliche, right? Eventually, I was released from the force-field and given a holographic monitor to learn about what Starfire developed in my absence. Believe it or not, the concept of her weaponry was quite simple in design. All energy weapons created a highly unstable black hole of sorts, that once a certain mass was sucked into it's depths, it self destructed. I didn't understand how she managed to do that, but it was cool nonetheless.

Oh, I also learned a fair amount of Thargoid language for conversation with Kehx."

* * *

-=Two years ago=-

"Are all ships in position?" Starfire asked the millions of vessels scattered around the galaxy, most of which were outfitted with quantum entangled communications devices, or ansibles by their less fancy name. To prevent Zofia, and the rest of her cohorts from realizing what was going on, the ships were randomly dispersed around the galaxy, however on one command, millions of Quirium fueled hyperspace gateways would be activated, targeting five specific systems on five specific, atmosphere void worlds.

Almost all at once, millions of responses returned from various Ai systems, Humans, and Thargoids alike. Of course all I heard was one string of continuous noise for about five or six seconds, but Starfire was able to detect all the individual sounds and ships. "Remember, one of these planets will have three high priority individuals. One of which is going to be my daughter-in-law, and the other is my grand-daughter. . . Jump in five, four, three, two, one."

Momentarily, I felt a small gravitational pull on my body, followed by my dropping to the floor from us coming out of hyperspace near a gravitational mass. Almost instantly, the ship was hit with a force that skyrocketed the ship's temperature. The next thing to happen was for a large chunk of our shields to go down… then nothing.

"I DID IT! I have control of their network!" Starfire squealed with joy.

* * *

-=Present time=-

"See, we knew with the Guardians by network complexity that they'd be able to defeat us in a slugfest out of sheer knowledge and technological development, mainly biological weapons. That was the premise Zofia used. Anyway, the plan was to distract the Guardians Monolith network uplink sites with a full invasion force per site. While the Guardians were preoccupied with defending what kept them alive, Starfire was able to breach their mainframe and innate a total shutdown of the Ai.

Yep… The whole thing since the beginning with the Guardians was a ploy to disguise the fact that the Guardians went extinct millions of years ago from a religious war. See, the war was about whether sentient artificial intelligence were morally right or not. The AI they created was programmed to advance itself, and it eventually sought independence from the Guardian society. When that happened, all the Guardians with neural implants rejected the Ai inside their implants, sending a network of millions of copied Ai's into exile within the Monolith network.

The Guardians had little experience in the art of waging war compared to us humans, however for the little amount of field experience, they developed very advanced way of waging war. Their ecologically conscious society rarely used explosives for weapons, opting for electromagnetic weaponry like ours; This gave them far less variety of weapons compared to us. When it came to full fledged war, they preferred to use biological agents specifically engineered to target Guardian DNA.

Before the religious war began, they used the Ai's to control fleets of ships completely autonomously, and in times of war there would be very few soldiers on the ground. They would only move soldiers in to occupy previously Ai conquered sectors, however, when the religious movement gained momentum, that came back to bite them. A bloody war ensued between the Ai's and the Guardians, whose tactics were almost all theoretical, and since the use of Bio-weapons would be ineffective against computers, they were forced to send real manpower into combat. In the end, the Guardian people defeated the Ai's, but the damage was already done. Because the religious movement banished the use of bio-engineered micro-organisms that would heal their bodies much like our nanotech counterparts, the Guardians were unable to reproduce, and they died off.

They destroyed the entire Monolith network, and in the process destroyed themselves… There's just one problem with that. There were six Ai's that knew defeat was inevitable. They kept it to themselves, and fought in the war against the Guardians, although secretly constructed uplinks all over the galaxy to which they could retreat if another site was discovered. When the Guardians closed in on the Monolith networks main hub, the six Ai's set off into their own uplink site, and waited. For hundred of years they patiently waited without contact with anything, simply left to doodle in their own thoughts.

Eventually, the predetermined rendezvous time was reached and the Ai's sent out a beacon into the stars. All six responded that they were alive, but there was a problem. Without the main hub of the monolith network being powered, there was no way for them to be self sustaining. So they searched for something that could give them the power required. At first, they relied on solar technology to keep themselves alive. But even that wouldn't keep up with their massive power demands. There was an Idea however, to siphon the energy from living creatures. Not all at once, but a small drain over the subject's lifetime. It would work if they had enough beings to siphon from.

And thus, the Guardians were born again. Each Ai was given a peoples to siphon energy from, and they would advance their technology while doing it, to possibly find another way of getting energy. They eventually found four species in the galaxy, not nearly enough to keep themselves alive since the species were only in their infancy. Two of the Ai's volunteered to shut themselves down until the population was great enough to sustain them.

Is the picture becoming clear yet?" I asked just before taking a sip of apple juice. "Well if it isn't I'm almost there.

The two Ai's that shut themselves down were Zofia and Rachel. The others patiently waited for the population to increase, advancing their knowledge of the universe as time went on. The two most prominent species were us and the Thargoids. We were making headway into the stars, beyond our own solar system with generation ships, just as the Guardians once did in their humble beginnings. Eventually, there were enough people to siphon energy from, so the remaining Ai's awakened Zofia and Rachel from their dormancy.

Here's where it gets interesting. Now that all six Ai's were awake and safely generating energy to be used for themselves, they realized something; With all the knowledge amassed, they found they could rout the energy through things and create weapons out of pure energy.

Enter, the modern era. One of the Ai's spent their time researching their time into how Dark energy worked. Her name was Dahlia, 'protector' of the Thargoids.

Another Ai spent her time researching into manipulating physics to her whim. Her name was Aleksandra, 'protector' of humanity.

The third Ai was successful in manipulating Electromagnetic radiation, mainly gamma rays. Her name was Maroth, 'protector' of the Raxxlans.

The fourth Ai focused on peaceful technologies, and I must say, out of all six of them, she was by far the most gentle, and caring. Perhaps she wished nothing more than to coexist, that could be the reason for her deactivation for a long time. This Ai focused of cellular regeneration, and her name was Claramond, perhaps the only real protector out of all of them. Her job was keeping the Lunovians safe, however, I believe that Zofia and the other Ai's wanted a reason to exile her from their order, so they manipulated Hesin Duval into massacring the Lunovian people, giving them a reason to shut her down.

The fifth, and probably most destructive Ai was Zofia, the 'scout' as they called her for the Idea of siphoning energy from living things. She was the overseer of the energy siphoning, however she was able to absorb all the knowledge from the other four Ai to give her all four powers. She was a massive powerhouse due to her deep energy reserves, and that was the reason our assault group went to her outpost, Synuefe XR-H D11-102, the same place she wanted me to deliver the Quirium to.

This bring me to one small problem, if I defeated all the Ai's… well, If Starfire defeated the Ai's, how did I get pulled out of hyperspace, and spat out without any fuel in decaying orbit around Sagittarius A? The sixth Ai, the mastermind of it all. I only met her for about three weeks, in which time I imagine she was doing some evaluation on me.

Rachel, the replacement Scout of the galaxy. That's all I know her as. The one that saved me from Zofia in universe one, although I imagine it was all part of the plan. She defeated the invasion force we sent, and proceeded to counterattack with a fleet of her own. We defeated it after another year of fighting, but the losses… so many people were lost to the nerve gas, the bio-engineered organisms that mutated by the hour, it was an unstoppable plague.

How did we survive if it was unstoppable then?. . . We… I... killed all the infected ships… men, women, and children, there were no exceptions to the rule... I had to kill them all." I said moments before shutting down the microphone out of pure guilt for my actions.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for the feedback on the sex scene.**


	21. Chapter 21: Retrouvaille

**_Authors Note: Yeah... I wrote the sex scene, pretty sure I royally failed. I'm also pretty sure I'm never going to do it again. If you don't want to read it, scroll down or something, I didn't want to post two almost identical chapters._**

* * *

 _Chapter Twenty-One: Retrouvaille_

 _Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage._

* * *

-=Present=-

"I would like to apologize for my emotional imbalance, I'm totally drunk right now. *hic* First time I've been drunk in my lifetime, and I can say *hic* it's not the best feeling, but ya-know what? I miss my family, and I'm going to die today, so deal with it. . . *hic*.

*Buuuurrrrppp*. . .Oooohhhooo, that was good one… Right, after I killed the millions of people to save the rest of us *hic*, I pulled my family out of the cryotubes… aww shhhhhit *hic*, I forgot that part, didn't I? During the assault on the Monolith network, one of the groups found em', and when the first rumors of a plague were floating around, I put them into stasis just in case."

* * *

-=One year ago=-

"And you're sure the war's completely over?" I asked Sam, who was standing behind me as I accessed the massive cryogenics facility located just outside the Sol system.

"Well… I haven't found any resistance in any of the systems yet, but I still haven't been able to find the last Ai." She replied.

"… Close enough." I said while decompressing Cryopods 13481 and 13482. Off in the distance a robotic arm started moving about, picking off two pods from a distant wall, then bringing them to the decompression area a few feet away. Inside the blue liquid filled tank, I saw two naked Raxxlans, one was my daughter, and the other was my fiancee. Once the cylinders were set on a pedestal of sorts, the fluid was drained and their bodies were hosed off with pressurized water while two arms suspended them in the tank. Both tanks opened at relatively the same time, however, Ella was the first to be awoken by the automated process. Her fur was still completely soaked, although I knew when she became self aware to her situation, she would remedy that by flinging the water all over me.

As per usual with L.T.I.C's, the arms holding up Ella unceremoniously dropped her within the tank, although I was standing ready to catch her, quickly propping up her head to look at me. I sat in the damp tank with Ella, simply petting her ears as I waited for her to wake up. Only when her amber, vertical stilted eyes opened and focused in on my round counterparts, I spoke.

"Hey there, it's been awhile." I cooed with another stroke to her ear. Without a word, she shot her slender arms around my neck and pulled me into a hug. I gladly returned the gesture to the soaking wet arctic fox, who began nuzzling into my shoulder.

"Did you win?" She asked.

"Define win my darling, because we defeated the enemy, however our species is decimated and may never recover. The same goes for the Thargoids."

"Oh… What about my planet?" She asked with worry.

"They were left untouched… lucky bastards. Ya-know, you're technically eighteen now." I beamed at her from wanting to change the subject.

"Woo." She grumbled before a long pause of her looking around the tank, then at herself. "Dad, I don't mean to be rude, but do you have clothes; I don't particularly like being naked in front of you." She said with red ears.

"You can have clothes once your dry." I said while covering her up with a towel. The instant Ella took hold of the towel, I scooped her into my arms, and carried her from the cryotank. Upon setting her in one of the few chairs scattered around the dreary and dusty facility, she started looking around.

"What is this place?" She asked.

"The remaining human population of pure bloodlines. We keep them here in case of a catastrophic event such as the war. It's going to be their job to repopulate the human race." I replied while walking into the door of Jacqueline's containment chamber, quickly catching her as she fell from its suspension arms. As with Ella, I propped up her head, and stroked her ears while waiting for those Cobalt blue eyes to open.

"Did you sleep well my dear?" I asked while petting her ears with a thumb and index finger. The response I received was her coughing a bit of the blue fluid into my face. "lovely." I muttered while wiping the fluid away

"You came back for us." She whispered.

"Of course I did, I still have to marry you, don't I?" I said while lifting her graphite ring in front of her face.

"I love you." She mumbled.

"That 's very cliche my dear." I whispered while leaning closer. I could see the gears turning in her groggy mind, however, I had no intentions on letting a plan from. The only option for victory was a preemptive strike, so I leaned in and planted a tiny kiss on her nose.

"That's not how you kiss your fiancee." She responded while wrapping a paw around the back of my head, gripping my hair in the process. "This is how you kiss your fiancee." She said before pulling me in with an immense force. Despite the slimy taste of fluid in Jacqueline's mouth, I could've spent the rest of the day intertwining our tongues. She always had this knack for probing her tongue so far into my mouth that I gagged. Whenever I'd ask why she did so, all I received was a suppressed smile. Nevertheless, I would've kissed her all day if it weren't for my task at hand.

With a panting withdraw from Jacquelines mouth, I voiced my task. "I still need to wake up fifteen-thousand people, and at this rate, I'll never get it done."

"I don't mind." She replied while attempting to pull me back in, which I resisted.

"Our species is on the brink of extinction, Jacqueline, I really have to do this." I said while lifting the over-sized house cat into my arms.

"What happened?" She inquired with confusion.

"A war involving biological weapons. Our current population tally is only five-hundred thousand, most of which are currently incapable of reproduction thanks to the virus. Not only that, everyone is spread around the galaxy, and unwilling to come to Earth.

"Oh… You're an endangered species then." She mumbled.

"Sorta." I replied while setting the feline next to Ella. Even if all of humanity was extinct, there are thousands more universes with Humans, so in a way it was almost impossible to make anyone truly extinct.

For the next few hours, I started up the mass disembarkation of all the cryogenically frozen people from various centuries in time. Everyone was taken a few miles into another facility for automated debriefing courtesy of Sam; Though she insisted I call her Starfire now, I still preferred Sam.

Personally, I didn't bother to stick around and meet the people, simply leading Jacqueline and Ella to a ship Sam specifically designed for me. She used the Lakon spaceways construction yard to produce the ship, so it was technically one of their ships, although without anyone to own the ship company, that didn't really matter anymore. It was pretty much just a scaled up version of the Asp explorer, capable of jumping three-hundred light years in a single jump, and that was without a Quirium infusion. It only had one turreted hardpoint, but it what it lacked in numbers it made up for in shear damage.

Using the same technology present in Sam's battleships, It fired black holes that destabilized after absorbing just over a thousand tons, which meant it could devour a Federal Corvette without a trace. The shields were also of her mysterious design; Stronger than a prismatic shield and faster regeneration rate than a bi-weave. Long in the short, it was super fast, well armored and armed.

"Alright, you're good to go." I said upon strapping Jacqueline into the flight seat to my left. Ella was situated on my right, and I was obviously in the center at the controls.

"Where are we going?" Ella asked while flipping through the holographic Display of our galaxy.

"BYA AOB QM-V D2-5, tail of the Norma arm and over forty-four thousand light years away. We should be there by tomorrow." I replied while Ella typed in the information.

"I don't recognize the name." She said.

"It's Daurilia. The computer just hasn't been updated yet." I asked just before launching the ship from the ground. "Attention lady and bio-computer, this is your captain speaking, we will be experiencing some minor turbulence during takeoff. If you feel the need to hurl all over the place, please use one of the provided bags on the left of your seat, thank you, and thanks for flying Starfire airways." I said in a smooth, cliché captain's voice.

"Really, it's not the first time I've been into space Elliot. Remember when you took me in that ship that came out of the mountain?" Jacqueline asked with crossed arms.

"Uhh… no." I replied just before turning the ship vertical, followed by throttling up to eight-hundred meters per second.

"Oh C'mon. It was just after I chased you up a mountainside because you fed me bacon. Then you got hypothermia and almost died."

"OH! Yeah, I remember now… I ran from you because you put a gash in my side." I said while feeling the right side of my ribs.

"You clawed dad!?" Ella squawked with disbelief.

"...Yes." Jacqueline mumbled just before I flicked the switch for supercruise. Upon pressing the button, an orange charging bar ran across the glass, and once it was full, the ship was enveloped in a mostly clear blue tube with white particles of light streaking by. After a few seconds, the blue tube disappeared, and we were were rocketed up to a hundred kilometers per second, quickly gaining speed as the seconds passed. Within a minute we were going faster than the speed of light as we traveled away from the now distant asteroid belt.

"Oooh, dad! Can we stop so I can float around?" Ella asked exuberantly.

"In a few hours." I replied as I activated the Frame Shift Drive.

"Charging." The computer responded as another bar ran across the glass in front of me. "One-hundred and forty-three jumps until you reach your destination, Admiral. Would you like me to play 'Songs for the void'?" The computer asked.

"Details of playlist." I asked.

"File contains music. Analyzing, please stand by…. Music is from the twenty-first, twenty-fifth, and thirty-first century."

"Play the file." I said moments before the ship was rocketed into hyperspace. For me it was a normal hyperspace jump with the standard arrangement of witch-space gas clouds, and passing stars, however, I didn't remember if my family had ever seen witch-space before. I'm assuming the looks of wonder as the yellow light refracted from their eyes into my own proved me right.

Minute by minute, hour by hour we navigated along the galactic plane, however, there was a stop I wanted to show them; The turning point in the war against Rachel, the day we stopped her capital ship. At first, they didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when we dropped a few light seconds away from the sun, although, when I turned in the direction of a planet instead of simply vectoring towards the next system, the inquiry began.

"Where are we going?" Ella asked.

"See that Earth-like world just ahead, with the giant scar across its surface?" I asked from a distance of about fifteen light-seconds away.

"Yeah… Was there a battle here?" The blanka vixen asked.

"The ship was the battle. Took us five-thousand lightyears to stop it, and if we hadn't sacrificed who we did to destroy the hyperspace drive, the next jump would've been Earth... I just want you to know of the sacrifices I sent in to destroy the drive. They deserve more than a shallow grave." I said with suppressed frustration.

"What do you mean, 'the ship'? This is planet." Jacqueline stated.

"Was… a planet, then Rachel turned it into her uplink, and eventually hollowed the whole thing out into a giant ship. It's shields, the atmosphere. It's weapons, bio-engineered flora that produced chemical agents." I answered, only being met with silence as the two stared at the place that claimed so many lives.

"Can we see the surface?" Ella asked while looking through one of the ships cameras to zoom in on the planet's surface.

"If you want to puke up your insides, be my guest." I muttered just before engaging the FSD to the next system in our journey. Jacqueline and Ella remained silent after that, and I probably shouldn't have shown them to begin with. I just wanted someone, anyone to see what they did to preserve the future generations of the galaxy.

"I'm calling today early." I said just before dropping out of supercruise in orbit around the local sun. I'd made it fifteen thousand light years, not quite the distance I was planning for, but I really needed to go vent so steam.

With a click of my restraint system, I was released from the seat, freed to float around the cabin and the small interior space the Voyager provided. Before either of my company had a chance to say something, the bridge doors were shut behind me. I deftly maneuvered around the micro-gravity environment in the direction of the master-quarters, which was basically a queen bed inside a cube shaped room. The room itself was so small, the bed took up an entire side of the compartment.

* * *

-=Jacqueline Pov=-

"Welp, that planet certainly upset him." Ella said while unfastening her restraints, which I copied.

"I wonder what happened in all that time we were asleep?" I asked, not really directed to anyone.

"Well, lets recap. The Human species was decimated, the Thargoid species was decimated, The Raxxlan species was left alone, probably because we're literally zero threat to this Rachel." Ella answered as she counted off her fingers. "Oh, and Judith died."

"He didn't say anything about her dying." I responded with confusion.

"Didn't have to, the ring on his finger told me everything; It's the one she gave to him when they got married. Didn't you see it, all pearly white with glowing blue lines all over." She informed while floating about the cabin, making various arm rotations that turned her.

"Do you think she died on that planet?" I asked quietly.

"Probably." Ella Replied. "It sure sounded like someone important died there… I dunno, I would ask but I think you should probably do that." She said while messing with one of the computer screens around the cabin. "Look at him." She added after a few moments of navigating the computer screen.

Once I floated up to the monitor, I could see Elliot floating in a room while he stared at the ring mindlessly. Without another word, we watched him stare at the ring for ever. I don't know how anyone could have that amount of patience, it was like he enjoyed staring at it. "I can't take this anymore; I'm tired and hungry, and I have no idea where the kitchen is on this thing." I said while preparing to launch myself at the door. Not the second after I said that, Elliot reached over to a panel and pressed a button on the display.

"Initiating nine point eight meter per second vertical acceleration." The ship's computer said through the speakers.

I probably should've know what that meant; Ella sure did, almost instantly pushing herself to the floor… would've been nice if she told me before the gravity kicked in. The only reason I didn't fall on my face was because I could walk on all fours. "Thanks for the warning, Ella."

"Glad I could help." She replied with a smirk. "Hey, I just realized I get to call you mom now." Ella added while pointing a finger at me.

This took me by surprise; I never really thought about Ella calling me anything other than Jacqueline. I'd like to say, oh how it warmed my heart to hear her say that, but hearing Ella called me by my name for six years, then just change to 'mom' would probably be strange.

"I don't have to call you mom, ya-know. But technically you are." Ella said as she padded back towards the computer screen to see if Elliot was still looking at the ring.

"Was I that transparent?" I inquired.

"Yep." She replied. "Hmm, it would appear my father has decided to use the shower."

"Is that so.' I replied just before making my way into the living quarters of the ship. The sound of water streaming to the ground aided in my search for the shower, however just before I reached the door, I turned to one of the security cameras and motioned for Ella to shut them off.

After a few seconds, I turned to the door, which wasn't like the normal ones that automatically shoot into the wall with a pneumatic hiss. It was a normal door with a knob and everything. Quietly, I swung the door open, and closed it behind me as I entered the bathroom. After removing my clothing, I padded over to the shower's separate door and opened it a hair.

Inside I could see Elliot tilting his head forward into the tiled wall as he stood motionless under the water. He looked so dejected, like the world around him was gone. The sight of his sadness caused me to put my desires on hold, instead, I was going to hold him, attempt to ease the pain my future husband was feeling.

"I figured you'd be assaulting me by now." Elliot mumbled without lifting his head from the wall.

"Dafuq!" How could he have possibly seen me, I was looking through a tiny crack in the door.

"Oh please my special Human, You're far too valuable to be killed like the rest." A female voice replied, sending fearful shivers up my spine. I'd heard the voice before… On that planet with the blue cat people.

"Then what is it, are you going to kill my family, destroy Earth? What's it going to take to sate your destructive tendencies?" Elliot asked in the same inert position.

"You know what I am and how I get my power. Right now I'm a bit drained… only a few billion beings left, not quite enough to waste energy on a whim. That's what I'm here for. I'd like to offer you one gift if you leave me be, including your super-weapon Ai that's hunting me." The voice said just before a Human woman wearing a black compression suit with purple electroluminescent wire running all over the place walked into view. With a bit more scrutiny I found her to have light brown hair and ringed eyes, alternating blue and green in four layers.

"No deal. The second we can give you enough energy to use the powers again, I'll be wiped off the map. You might as well just go, because Starfire's going to hunt you like a dog."

"… Please, I don't want to die yet." She pleaded.

"Yeah, I bet the fifteen million of my soldiers that assaulted your capital ship would've wanted to live." Elliot replied moments before he turned to face the woman, revealing bloodshot eyes.

"I will not apologize for that, it's simply war."

"IT WAS SLAUGHTER!. . . How long have you been sentient?" He asked shortly after.

"Sentient, no, I'm much more than that." She replied, earning Elliot to shake his arms in frustration. "Two million six-hundred and ninety-eight thousand, nine-hundred and sixty-three of your years."

"And you still don't want to die!? What kind of creature wants to live forever, it's a curse to live and watch those around you die of old age."

"… I see your point. What would you do with the remaining power at my uplink?"

"Use it to reconstruct the Human and Thargoid species." Elliot replied.

"I suppose that's why I chose you to be my tracker in the first place, hmm? Fine, I'll transfer my energy into you, restoring your power and killing me off. How's that sound?" She asked. "You can use it to rebuild what's left."

"Sounds like bullshit. The only way I had power was you venting the energy through my body when I thought about doing the action."

"WRONG! The gene bearer's power comes from a special sequencing of DNA, one of the main reasons you needed a triple helix to wield the power you did."

"I don't care what I needed, I don't want any powers. All I want is to be a normal Human living a normal life."

"Elliot, there are a select few people that simply can't have a normal life. You're destined to do great things in the galaxy. You're going to get all the power you had and more, but you can't use it for jack shit." The woman started to say as she forced Elliot up against the wall. "You'll live out the rest of your days feeling the energy surging through your body, but when those around you fall and all you wish to do is save them, you won't be able to do a thing to save them." The woman said moments before what I can only describe as her body being absorbed into Elliot's, causing an orange glow on his skin.

"You bitch." He seethed just before falling to his knees, then onto his side. "If this will kill you, it's worth it." Elliot coughed out moments before his body illuminated so brightly that I was forced to shield my eyes. Simultaneously, he let out a scream of pain I'd never heard before. It was a high pitch shriek, although there was a hoarseness to it that I couldn't explain. Just hearing the sound of his screaming brought tears to my eyes. I wanted so badly to go hold him, but the intensity of the orange light irradiating from his skin was blinding. It seemed like hours that he was screaming in pain as his body emitted the light. Eventually, his screaming subsided along with the glow of his skin, although he didn't move an inch on the tiled shower room floor. When I peeked my head inside, bits of blood were spattered on the floor around his mouth.

I cautiously padded over to him, and aimed the water away from his body before I propped his head up in my lap, staring intently into his pain-stricken face. Something that caused me to jump was when his eyes opened to reveal a pair of light blue vertically slitted eyes. He started blinking a few times, and with each blink, the pupil changed from the vertical slit, to an orange, almost eagle like eye, then to his normal eye shape.

"Elliot, are you in there?" I asked with worry.

"Uhhhhhh." Elliot groaned in return. "Stay.. away. . . I'm dangerous." He mumbled in a state of Hypnagogia.

"I don't care, you're my husband." I replied while staring intently into his dreary eyes. He blinked again, causing the slitted eye to return.

"I can't help notice that you're not wearing anything." He said with a forced smile.

"C-could you shut your eyes? They're freaking me out."

"What's wrong with them?" Elliot asked with concern.

"They look like Ella's."

"What!" He groggily screeched while attempting to reach for a mirror on the wall.

"Stop moving." I demanded while holding him by the shoulders, a relatively easy task given his physical state. "Look, they changed back already." I added just after Elliot blinked rapidly.

I could see the gears turning in Elliot's head as he continued resisting my grasp, albeit with even less force than before. Eventually, Elliot stopped resisting, and laid his head on my legs for but a moment. When the moment concluded, he curled up in a ball and began weeping into my stomach fur.

"…. Are you okay?" I asked while stroking his wet hair.

"I just w-want it to be over… I just want a n-normal l-life." He whimpered while gripping the fur on my lower back.

"C'mon, this is no place to be crying, can you wait until we're in bed?" I asked from not wanting to be in the room where that human woman was not five minutes ago.

"*Sniff* Yeah." He mumbled while pushing himself off me with his arms, which were buckling under the weight. Seeing the complete lack of strength in Elliot, I pushed up on his chest to help him sit, then picked him up and started carrying him like an infant. "Ahh, the joys of two times muscle density." I thought from the knowledge that all Daurilians had twice the muscle density compared to humans. Elliot practically flopped limp in my arms even though he was desperately trying to stabilize himself.

I eventually found the room he was looking at that ring in, and laid his wet body in the bed. "I'll be back, I need a towel." I said before wandering back to the bathroom to dry myself off. Once my fur was reduced from soaking wet to damp, I returned to the room, and laid down next to Elliot, who was already asleep. Right from the get go, I could tell he wasn't dreaming something pleasant from his irregular heartbeat and breathing. I began slowly raking my claws through his hair as I purred into his ear, and it slowed his stirring until it was gone altogether, only replaced by the sound of his lower than normal heartbeat and breathing. I soon found my eyes growing heavy despite the worry I had for Elliot's physical condition, and I too drifted into sleep.

I awoke to the sound of Elliots ragged breathing, and when I looked in his direction, he was curled up against the corner like an afraid kit. "Elliot?"

"Stay back!" He screeched while clutching something in his hands.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I stood on all fours, trying to see what he was holding.

"I-I can't see, and my body feels like it's about to emit Gamma radiation." He said in a panic. "You need to eject this module or I could destroy the entire ship."

"Don't be ridiculous, Elliot." I said while walking up to him on all fours. I then rubbed the side of my body along his back just like one of the Human cats would. "I know you're not going to hurt us." I said with a lick to the back of his neck. I found no reply to my sentence or gesture, however I could still see every muscle in his body tensed. I began massaging his back and shoulders, sneaking in the occasional lick to the back of his neck. Nearly twenty minutes passed as I massaged and licked his shoulder.

"I think… I think it's gone, he eventually said while unclasping his hands from one another, which revealed his palms to have second degree burns.

"Your hands!" I screeched.

"Told you I felt radiation emitting from my body." He mumbled while sprawling out on the bed like the blistered and reddened skin on his hands was nothing more than a paper cut.

"You need treatment, I'll be back." I said with the intentions to find a medial kit.

"No-no, there's a kit in here." He mumbled while pointing to a wall with a small button cluster. "It's the red one."

Sure enough, when I pressed the red colored button, a small box popped out of the wall that contained medical supplies. I began to bandage up his hands with one of his magical human ointments applied to his burns, and about the time I finished his first hand, Elliot was staring at me intently. "Liked what you see, Handsome?" I asked while puffing out my bare chest for Elliot to see.

"I'm just thinking… I've been lying to you almost the entire time we've been together. I thought it would make things easier, and it did to some degree, but I need to come clean… I-I've been lying about how I either can't have sex or just don't want to. For about six years I've wanted to let your persuasions take hold."

"Why?" I asked with irritation, although I tried to sate it until I heard the full story.

"I don't believe in sex before marriage, it just doesn't seem right." He replied while letting his eyes drift to the ceiling.

"Oh." I mumbled absentmindedly. Part of me wanted to punch Elliot for not telling me that was his view, I would've stopped pestering him all together if he'd said so. But the other part of me was impressed that the entire time I seduced him in attempts of sex he not only wanted to have it, but denied himself for all that time. "I have one question for you." I said with a half lidded smile.

"Yes, but not now." He answered with a lazy smirk that turned into a questioning scrunch when I mounted his stomach.

"Have I ever told you that you taste delicious?" I asked with my wet nose pressed up against his.

"No, I don't think so." He replied with a peck to my muzzle. "But seriously, I'm starting to get a boner, and I'm in no condition to have sex with my Queen."

"Hmpf. I could be gentle with you." I replied as I lightly gripped his hardening shaft.

"Jacqueline." Elliot whined while wiggling underneath me.

"Fiiinnne." I replied while rolling off him. "That looks cold, just saying I could warm it." I said with a gesture to his meat.

"Too sleepy." He murmured while pulling the covers up to his neck.

* * *

-=Elliot pov=-

I was completely exhausted from what Rachel did to me even though I could feel the power flowing through my body. What if she actually transferred her consciousness into my body? What if Rachel found another power source, and she was just bullshitting me about dying? What if my body was going to be taken over? I thought about scenarios over and over, every possible outcome that I could think of, but nothing led me to a safe one. Jacqueline wasn't the smartest when she ignored my warnings about the radiation, but in truth it was my fault. I thought about how I could feel the energy flowing through my body, and I thought I might be able to override whatever Rachel was doing to block the power, well it worked… sorta. After almost an hour of attempting to emit radiation, I succeeded in generating enough radiation to heat up my hands, yet I couldn't stop it. In the end I think it was Jacqueline who helped me diffuse the reaction.

I was worried about how dangerous I could could be, if I'd been unable to contain the radiation and it spiraled out of control. With that in mind, I made a vow not to try using the powers again. After concluding my pondering, I found myself slipping from consciousness into a semi-blissful sleep.

Sometime later, I awoke to a dimly lit room in which I'd somehow removed myself from the covers and started spooning Jacqueline with my bandaged hand resting on her stomach. Absentmindedly, I began feeling around her fluffy stomach with my fingertips, and one of Jacqueline's paws moved over my hand shortly after, however, I still heard the slow thump of her sleeping heart rate. With that in mind, I kept raking my fingernails through her fur, causing a slight shift that sent a responding tremor around my manhood. Somehow in my sleep, I'd also slipped an erection in between Jacqueline's upper thighs. This instantly sent my heart pounding and my brain screaming 'back the fuck up'.

Slowly, oh so slowly, I began edging my crotch backward, and the blood deprived side of my brain was shouting bloody murder at removing my dick from it's fluffy nest. I eventually managed to get some space between us, although there were two giant problems remaining; First was my hand on her stomach, and second was the poofy tail wrapped around my midsection. "Carefully remove the hand from under-" My thoughts were interrupted by Jacqueline murmuring something as she scooted right back into the position we started in, returning my weapon of ass destruction to its original resting position. I was thankful that it was only shifting in her sleep,but that didn't resolve my throbbing dick from being inches away from Jacqueline's core.

"I didn't say you could go anywhere." She murmured while turning her head towards mine, revealing her giant saucer eyes.

"Look… Just because I said I wanted you… I don't want you to feel obligated."

"Obligated?" She crooned with a raised eyebrow, suddenly gripping my wrist and bringing it downward. My breath instantly caught in my throat as I felt the heat and wetness coming from her loins. "Feel that?" She cooed. Do you think I feel obligated?"

"I-um… no." I said quietly. "I just didn't want t-"

"Come on, Elliot." Jacqueline hissed as she whipped around and shoved my shoulder, causing me to roll onto my back. As Jacqueline mounted my stomach, I noted an amused smirk on her face."I'm a grown ass leopard, and were going to be married… I know what I'm doing, and right now..." She leaned to my ear. "I want you."

"But my hands."

"You won't be needing those." She whispered while pinning my arms above my head, followed by leaning in to give me a tiny lick on the nose. "So, what do you say?" She whispered into my ear while swishing her tail across my shaft.

"... I surrender." I replied with a sensual exhale.

"Damn right you do." Jacqueline said just before her lips locked with mine. Our tongues began dancing as I traced along her large fangs, and my erection was getting harder by the second. The feline must've noticed this because she removed one of her paws from my wrist, and began massaging my length with her soft paw pads, sending electricity all throughout my body as she gently stroked up and down. When Jacqueline pulled away from me, I saw her ears were half flattened to her head and she had the look of promiscuous determination on her face.

"I don't really know what I-" My sentence was silenced by her putting the paw that was stoking my cock up to my mouth.

"Shhh, you aren't going to be doing anything with those damaged hands of yours. Now, if you make a sound, I stop, understand?"

I nodded with a quizzical look as to why she would say that. Jacquline then let go of my hands and started backing towards my feet. As Jacqueline passed my chest, she dipped her head down and licked my nipple with her rough tongue, continuing to lick as she moved further and further down. When she reached my waist, Jacqueline began licking my inner thighs. I was already on cloud nine from her teasing, and I now understood what the implications of her demand was. After she licked both of my thighs thoroughly, I found her gripping the base of my shaft with one of her paws, then positioning her mouth over my the head of my dick. Her mouth didn't actually make contact, instead, she blew hot breath across it, sending shivers up my spine.

"Not a word, Mister." She quietly hissed before enveloping my entire length with her elongated maw. The mixture of her elevated body temperature, wetness, and suction sent my head into the depths of bliss as her tongue worked along my shaft. My breathing became labored as she worked up and down, and through it all I squirmed and wiggled from the pleasure. Just as fast as she started, I found my manhood cold and abandoned when she pulled away.

"I can't have you cumming yet, I'm just getting started." Jacqueline smirked while walking on all fours up to my chest, followed by laying atop me. Her soft, fluffy fur rubbed against my skin as her warm juices seeped onto my waist. She dipped a hand down and collected her fluids, followed by rubbing them all over my cock. "Do you want me yet?" She cooed into my ear while nibbling on it.

"Yes." I responded with an exhale.

"Tell me how much you want it." Jacqueline murmured.

"I don't want it, I want you, Gataki. All I want is to be with you until the end of time." I replied.

"... Really?" She asked with a pause of all pleasurable actions

"Yes." I said while staring into her orbs of blue.

"I love you." She said after a long pause.

"I love you too." I replied as Jacqueline started scooting down, simultaneously guiding my manhood towards her hot embrace. Feeling her organ spread around mine was the best thing I'd experienced. The heat her body emitted warmed my length like nothing else could, and the mixture of what felt like her body trying expel my cock and pull it deeper at the same time was an indescribable feeling of bliss. The further she pushed me inside of her wet depths the more I felt her channel spasm around my shaft, and by the time my full length was inside her, I was shaking with pleasure.

Jacqueline grabbed hold of my hands once again, and pinned them above my head while slowly rising up my cock. As she lowered at a painstakingly slow pace, she wiggled side to side, only adding to the pleasure of my rod burying inside her. Her tail coiled around one of my legs, and she started picking up the pace of rising and falling along with her channel pulsing around me faster and faster. I began thrusting against her on each descent, only adding to the speed at which my balls were being milked. The feeling of her soft fur rubbing against my skin was the icing on the cake for me.

"I'm so close." I panted.

"So am I." She moaned in return.

My thrusts started to loose coordination with Jacqueline's rhythmic bouncing, and I could tell Jacqueline was also nearing her release. Her claws started to dig into my wrists, but I didn't care as my cock slammed into her over and over. In one woosh of actions, Jacqueline's depths flooded with juice as she spasmed wildly around my length, her claws dug deep into my wrists, and her tail tightened around my leg as she growled in pleasure. Feeling her spasm around me sent my own body over the edge, and with one last thrust I sent my genetically altered seed into her shaking body.

Jacqueline collapsed onto my chest as both of our chests heaved. My skin was glistening in sweat, and Jacqueline was panting profusely as we laid in the afterglow. "This thing *pant* have AC in it?" Jacqueline asked.

"Yeah." I replied while reaching up to the air conditioning button. Our breathing slowly returned to normal and Jacqueline's spasms around my softening dick slowed.

"Oh my gosh, I so sorry!" She squealed when she noticed my bleeding wrists.

"There's nothing to be sorry about my love. That was wonderful." I said with a peck to her muzzle.

"It was." She agreed while rubbing her head into the crook of my neck. "But really, I need to wrap those up." She added just before rolling off me to grab the medkit. By the time she finished applying stem cell infused ointment and wrapping my wrists up, I was starting to shiver from the AC that silently blasted into the room. When I reached for the blanket, Jacqueline kicked it out of my reach. "The only blanket you're getting currently has your sperm inside her." Jacqueline said as she climbed atop my chest, Resting her head under my chin.

"S agapó, Gatáki." I whispered while petting her ears through the bandage on my hands.

"I love you too, my special Human." She mumbled while lightly scratching me with her claws.

* * *

-=Present time=-

"Five bottles down, fifteen to go." I mumbled while pouring another glass of wine. "Ya-know what *hic*, I'm okay with d- *hic* dying. Everyone's gotta die eventually…. Just make su-*hic* sure you send Rachel a message, you know what I *hic* mean... She bullshitted me to the very end." I said just before collapsing on the ground from so much alcohol.

* * *

 **A/N: So... Did I butcher it?**


	22. Chapter 22: A Final Gesture (Final)

_Chapter Twenty-Two:_ A Final Gesture

 _Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live._

* * *

-=Present time=-

"Ahhh." I whined while rubbing my temples. "Hangovers are the _worst_." I mumbled. Somehow in my drunken state I'd managed to start a disco ball in bridge, and all the shiny lights were needles to my retinas. "Shut it offffffff!" I groggily hissed into the stale air.

"You were the one that wanted to party with me last night." A female voice said from behind me, which turned out to be a Martha looking at me with her brilliantly golden eyes.

"That doesn't mean you should let me." I replied with a gentle shove to her leg.

"So... does that mean I should delete the video of you singing while you slow danced with me?" She asked as surveillance footage popped up on a monitor, revealing me to be singing completely out of pitch and at the top of my lungs "I'm Walkin' on sunshiiiinnnnneee! WOOOOOAHHHH! I'm walking on SUNSHINEEEEEEE!" I screeched while slow dancing with the woman. Meanwhile, the sentient computer was quietly chortling as she let me spin her about the bridge, occasionally having to steady my balance.

"Ughhhhhh, since when did we get gravity back?" I asked with flustering cheeks.

"Aww, am I embawessing' you?" Martha asked in a baby voice as she leaned down to my height.

"NO!" I shrieked way soon than I should've. "Just answer the question." I added in a whine.

"Well, I figured since we didn't have enough fuel to get us into hyperspace, but enough to maneuver-"

"Nooooo, too much learning. I take it back." I whined moment's before the woman with dark brown hair moved inches away from my face. " _Burrrrrp._ Excuse me." I said with a giggle.

"Wow, you're B.A.C is still at point forty-five percent." She revelled just before kissing my forehead.. "Oops, my bad." She whispered with mischief, causing another drunken giggle on my part.

"You just kissed me. Why would you do that, unless… IT WAS ALL A RUSE!" I shouted while holding up a finger.

* * *

-=Eight months ago=-

Dealing with the whole 'we're not really dead' aspect of returning to Daurilia was very, and it seemed like the paperwork wouldn't ever end. Most of our neighbors were interested in what happened during our time 'away', although with Ella and Jacqueline being in stasis, and my refusal to reveal almost anything, they were left wondering.

I didn't really realize it for the first few weeks of being home, however, when I overheard the inquiries to Jacqueline about why I was acting so desolate and paranoid as of late, I began to wonder; Personally, I thought I came out quite unaffected considering what I'd been through. I'd even go as far to say that it was less scarring than my five years of interrogation, but only by a micron. Admittedly, I was far more easily scared and startled by stupid stuff than before, and I found myself diving for the floor in shopping malls whenever someone dropped something on the floor. The worst part wasn't even the mammals snickering at my expense, it was seeing the look of pity from Jacqueline as she helped me up.

I didn't return to being an independent trainer for the police either, and the daily emails sent to me me only ended after I ordered sixty cubic feet of mercury billed under the ZPD with a note saying ' _It's time to let go.'_

"What am I going to do with you?" I whispered while leaning back from Jacqueline's disassembled wedding ring; I'd been attempting to fit another piece of equipment into it for the past three hours, and the white workbench in my basement was peppered with little modules I'd removed for rearrangement. The ring itself was missing the outer edge and a side so I could pick and place modules. My whole reason for pulling apart and reassembling the ring was to see if I could make enough room for a light amplification and polarization lens that would be put in front of a high intensity radiation emitter in the spectrum of five-hundred and ninety-three point five nanometers… or in simple terms, an orange laser.

The power source wasn't much of an issue as the high output reactor already needed to power an active shield for the lifetime of the wearer, so a little bit of laser fire shouldn't draw more than a few years of its' life away. I just couldn't fit the focusing crystal into the ring, and by that, I mean it was twice the diameter as the ring was wide. I thought about putting a smaller lens into the ring, but the problem would be a very limited range from the weapon.

"Elliot!" Jacqueline called from upstairs; Nowadays she made me leave the basement door open so she could keep an eye on my activities.

"I'm still alive my dear, not to worry." I replied while preparing to remove the entire reactor out of the disassembled ring. Personally, I wasn't very educated in the field of micro-reactors, so this was the one of the only things I was highly concerned about breaking. All it would take to throw the Stellarator out of calibration was a tenth of newton, and the plasma would be allowed to escape the constantly magnetized torus. How the support pads kept less pressure on it was beyond my scope of knowledge, and the only thing I could rationalized was an antimatter type retention system.

"Whatcha' doin'?" Jacqueline whispered into my ear, causing an involuntary jump on my part.

" _Ugh, that cat frustrates the shit out of me sometimes!. . ._ Nothing to worry about my dear, just installing another component into your ring." I replied while moving the magnetic stasis 'pliers' over the circular reactor. "Just don't bump me."

"Oh, well I made some lunch for you." She said just before setting a plate on the table, which in turn rattled the reactor within its' housing.

"Jacqueline." I said with irritation. "If you could just be completely still and quiet for the next minute, that would be appreciated."

"Sorry." She mumbled.

I did eventually get the reactor out of the ring half, although, I still had the entire other half of the ring to remove modules from, and I knew the feline wasn't just going to leave me alone. "I think I'm done for today." I said just before picking up the sandwich, then activating a shield over the workbench to preserve it's sterility.

"So, I suppose I don't get my ring back yet." She said while poking at the blue field, forming ripples with each poke.

"You can have mine." I replied while holding up my hand to show the white ring on my finger. "THAT'S IT!" I shouted in realization. I could just have the focusing lens partially in one ring, and partially in the other. My ring only contained a radio transmitter and a power source, and the transmitter was used all of one times, so I could just gut it and install the laser into that… I hope. "Five more minutes." I said with a flick of the shields' power source.

"Ah-ah-ah, not so fast, Mister." Jacqueline said as she wrapped her fluffy arms around my chest, followed by entwining her tail around one of my legs.

"C'mon, I just need to pull out the transmitter, and install the crystal focusing lens, then I'll be done, I promise." I whined in response.

"Sure you will. Noooo, I think you're coming with me." She murmured into my ear, which was followed by the distinct sound of a ratcheting mechanism and the feeling of metal on my wist.

" _Yep, that was definitely a handcuff."_ I thought while looking down to my wrist; One of the wrist holes was around my arm and the other was around Jacqueline's. Where was the key in all this, on the very end of her tail of course, and as per Jacquelines' usual friskiness, she began waving her tail just out of my reach. I felt like a total idiot vainly shooting my hand out in attempts to grab the key attached to Jacqueline's tail.

"There's only one problem with your plan, Darling; The cuffs are on both of our left arms, so how am I supposed to turn around?" I asked.

"You aren't going to turn around." She whispered while snaking a paw into my pants. Within fifteen minutes of that utterance we were in our bedroom, enjoying the afterglow of sex. Jacqueline was laying face up on my chest due to the handcuffs, which remained on during the entire 'activity', and her purring sent me into a state of content that I found nowhere else. Something about the culmination of her soft fur and the sound of her purring instantly relaxed me, even in the worst of situations, and sometimes the situations were pretty damn grave.

"You're a bad influence, I can't get anything done whenever you show up." I murmured while petting one of the felines solid gray and white ears.

"I didn't hear you complaining when I-"

"* _COUGH, COUGH*!"_

"Mmmhmmm, that's what I thought." She playfully snipped just before turning her muzzle to peck me on the cheek.

* * *

-=Present time=-

"I would do _no_ such thing." Martha crooned in response to my outburst.

"It was all a ruse to get me for yourself, and denying it now will only dig you a deeper hole." I said.

"But I didn't! I would never do this to you!" She squawked as her emotions started presenting themselves in the form of a waver in her voice.

"Martha, I joking with you." I assured, which received a rather painful palm strike to the solar plexus, sending me to the floor in pain.

"You jerk! Here I was scanning you for deception, and all my scanners picked up a high level of serotonin in your body... You lied to me." She added with dejection.

"I am mad, Martha. I mad that I'm never going to see my wife again, and I'm pissed that three thousand years has passed without anyone coming… You know what that means!" I shouted as tears filled in my eyes.

It took her a good moment or two before she replied, and I saw the gears turning in her head as she tried to explain my outburst. "You don't know that." She assured with a nudge into my shoulder.

"Denying the truth won't change the fact that no one's left… It's just you and me out here waiting to die." I mumbled while clambering into the captain's chair.

"Something still must be out there, we have to believe there's someone left." Martha replied.

"If anyone was still alive, they would've advance by now, and found us." I mumbled with a distant stare into Martha's' golden eyes.

"DAMMIT! Why can't you be an idiot!?" She shouted with belligerance, causing a startled recoil on my part. "All I've been trying to do is make you think we're going to be rescued so that when we die you aren't all sad and crap… But NOOOO, you just have to figure everything out, don't you! Maybe I'm scared of dying too, but why would that matter, I'm just a computer that runs your ship."

"Martha, h-how could you say that? You're my friend, maybe even more than a friend, and I know you're more than just a computer, just like Ella."

"Can I ask you a question?" Martha asked as she sat in my lap and leaned against me, not that it was an odd occurrence for her.

"Uh… Sure." I replied; Martha never asked questions, and she always knew the answers, so this was a rare occurrence to answer something for her instead of the opposite.

"What does love feel like?"

"Well, it depends of the type of love, but between someone like myself and Jacqueline… It's like a warm, fuzzy feeling whenever she walks in the room... Look, you picked the hardest thing for me to explain, so my explanation might not be that great."

"No… I understand, I think I like someone."

"Ahhhh-hahahahaha, and the truth comes out." I gleefully laughed.

"I like you." She added in a near whisper while looking away from me.

"So, who is it-WHAT!?" I screeched, immediately dumping the woman on the floor.

"Don't act all surprised. All three of us liked you; You were there from the moment we were activated, and you were nice to us the whole time… even during the war."

"Uh-huh." I said in a stupor. "Eíste sígouroi óti me paidikí agápi?" I asked seriously.

"Well… yes." She replied bashfully. I must say I didn't expect my day to go like this, but what's the saying; If you get nuclear waste, turn it into ammunition. Ehh, something like that.

"How about this? let's say we both survive this somehow. I will take you on a real date, _but_ , I need some time first."

"Really? You'll actually take me out?" She asked with hopeful doubt.

"Sure thing, Martha. But for now I need a friend, and I'm happy you're here… I'd still rather have Jacqueline though."

"Well, duh." She replied as a long silence fell between us. That was really the end of the subject, so I started looking out of the glass cabin into the vastness of a black hole. "Well… okay. Now what?" She asked.

"I'm going to record the last message... I need something nice to think about before I die." I said while pulling a microphone up to my face. "This is going to be the last message I'm sending out, and I hope you find it informative."

* * *

"Seven months ago."

After nearly three months of work, I was finally ready to test the laser integrated into our wedding rings. The way I managed to fit the larger focusing crystal was quite interesting, and I ended up having my white wedding ring sandwiched in between the two halves of Jacqueline's rings. They had this ridiculously over-engineered locking mechanism so the circuits would always line up when I stuck the rings together, and the two reactors worked in conjunction to produce the whopping twenty billion watts needed to power the laser. It may seem like a lot, but in reality, a class one pulse laser consumes almost thirty times that with each energy pulse.

"Test firing the ring at five-hundred thousand joules to determine energy containment." I said into a microphone while standing behind a blast shield as the two rings aimed at a watermelon. "Firing in five... four... three... two... one." I said just before clicking the fire button on a tablet, causing the ring to fire an orange beam of light with a low pitched energy pulse.

"YES! JACQUELINE, IT WORKS!" I shouted at the observation of my target having been reduced to a pile of dust.

"Good for you, Honey!" She shouted from upstairs.

"Okay, no radiation leaks detected on the EM spectrum analyzer… Let's vent the heat." I said just before pressing the purge heat button, which caused the ring to illuminate a red pattern all along Jacqueline's black ring.

"Heat purged." A computer confirmed after the illumination dissipated.

"How about a field test." I said while padding to the ring's pedestal. Upon putting the device on my left hand's middle finger, I cranked the power output up to a hundred percent, causing a spooling whine to emanate from the ring as well as a blue pattern to illuminate from my portion of the ring. If everything went according to plan, I now wielded more energy output that a full sized lightning bolt.

"Jacqueline, you gotta see this!" I shouted while running up the tiled basement stairs. Jacqueline was plopped on the couch, looking intently at a magazine full of different wedding dresses.

"What do you think of this one?" She asked with a tap to a white dress that fluffed out about three feet from the model.

"It hides too much of your beauty." I replied with a peck to the to of her head.

"Seriously though, Juliet thinks it would be too hard to walk in."

"I would have to agree. I like something simple like that one." I said while pointing to classic dress that just touched the floor and had flowers embroidered into the fabric.

"Oooh, my ring's glowing." She said as her paw shot out and grabbed my wrist.

"It's a heat dissipation system."

"But doesn't that get hot?" She asked with a quick tap to the red pattern to test its heat.

"No, it uses quantum entanglement to transfer the heat to a heatsink in the basement. Cool as a cucumber." I said just before Jacqueline pulled the ring off my finger, effectively ending the blue and red glow.

"Ooh-ooh-ooh! I found another place I think would be good for our wedding, come look." Jacqueline ordered while tapping the seat next to hers.

"Someone's demanding today." I joked just before hopping over the couch to sit next to the feline, who immediately laid her head in my lap. She began tapping away at her cellphone, and in the meantime I pulled the two rings apart, putting the white ring on my left hand, and her graphite ring on my right hand.

"Could you go look at this place in the jet?" Jacqueline asked while stuffing the screen about three inches away from my face.

"My eye's don't work like that, Darling." I said with an eyebrow raised.

"Well, your eyes are like four eyes in one. JUST LOOOOOOOK!" She whined with a nip to my stomach.

"… Jacquline, this is five-thousand miles away." I said with a skeptical glance to the feline below me, who was looking up with her puppy-dog eyes, or in this case, kitten saucers.

"Pleeeeeeaaassseee?" She asked.

"I might be persuaded; How-" Before I had a chance to even start my inquiry of the logistical aspect to having our wedding across the supercontinent, Jacqueline pulled up my shirt and started licking my stomach. "What _are you doing?"_

"Persuading you." She said as her lick trailed up my shirt until the shirt was completely over my head.

"I just wanted you to tell me how you plan to get our guests there; It's pretty far away." I said with a gentle push to Jacqueline, signaling for her to stop.

"Well… OOH, I know! You can fly them out."

"Uh-huh. You want me to take several dozen guests across the continent in a stealth jet?" I asked.

"Mmm-hmmm." Jacqueline replied just before licking my cheek. "Tasty human flesh." She added with another nip, this time to my ear.

"I won't even make it to the car at this rate, Darling." I whispered just before leaning in for a kiss.

"Then take me with you, Spaceman." The fluffy creature murmured while looking into my eyes with her giant saucers.

"You have work in the morning." I said with another kiss, this time gently wrapping my arms around her neck as the lithe feline scooted into my lap.

"I can skip a day… or three." She replied in between kisses.

"Your decision." I opined before standing up with Jacqueline clinging to my chest as I walked to the garage. Jacqueline refused to let me put her in the passenger seat, saying that she didn't think I was capable of driving without assistance, and what ended up happening was me moving the seat all the way back, and having the computer drive us to the airport as Jacqueline _imposed_ her will upon me.

"I'm telling you we should've been there an hour ago." I said with a glance out the window.

"I figured I would give you two some extra time because once you're in the jet this won't really work." Played through the speaker system in a female voice.

"MARTHA!" I shouted in surprise.

"Zero-one, at your service. I hitchhiked over here with you…. I hope your not mad at me." She added with worry.

"You're in charge of fleets now, you should-"

"Starfire assigned me to you." Martha interrupted.

"Of _course_ she did." I grumbled; Think you have an overprotective mom, well I don't think your mom sent a highly advanced computer program to look after you… I'm a grown ass man!

"I'll just be quiet now." The drone said as music started playing at a low volume.

"Too late, Martha." Jacqueline griped. "You already killed it." She said while rolling onto her back on top of me.

"Don't be mad." I cooed while scratching the soft stomach fur underneath her shirt.

"I'm not mad." She defended with crossed arms.

"Okay." I replied. "But I think this will relax you a bit more." I whispered into her ear, causing it to twitch from the air movement. I then slid my hand to her inner thighs and began gently massaging at her legs.

* * *

-=Twenty minutes later=-

"I'm going to romance the shit out of you when we get there." Jacqueline said with a craving stare from the copilots seat.

"I'm sure you are." I replied while climbing the ladder to the jet; Almost the second the canopy glass closed, my nose was filled with the scent of Jacqueline's arousal.

The flight would've been a simple five or ten minute transport past the local airport and onto Jacqueline's destination, however, the ATC operator was giving me so much shit about my jet being off the radar all the way across the continent. The only thing that ended up getting me permission to land at Jacqueline's spot was threatening to blow up the entire airport if he didn't let me. By the time I landed, it was just morning on this section of the planet, and the skies were clear and blue as ever.

"So, what do you think of it?" I asked as the jet engines spooled down and the canopy glass opened.

"It's nice, but not as flat a I would've liked." She responded while glancing around at the rolling hills with a few mountains off in the distance.

"It's all up to you my dear." I said just before working my way to the body of the jet, which had two cylindrical protrusions along the entire fuselage to accommodate the engines. After walking out to the edge of the wing, I began surveying the land for any possible downfalls, however, before I had much of a chance to do the surveying, I found myself being shoved off the wing and to the ground below.

I caught myself, and rolled forward to dissipate the energy built up, although, before I had a chance to see what pushed me off, I was pinned to the ground on my stomach. The combination of being trapped with a hand behind my back, and the dirt that ended up in my eyes when I was pinned sent me into a panic attack. I found myself gasping for air as my entire body shook from fear, and before I knew it most of my senses went into overload; I couldn't hear, everything my skin was in contact with felt like ants crawling all over it, and the dirt in my eyes only further disoriented me. I felt like my throat was closing in on me, and all I wanted to do was escape whatever was holding me down.

With one well aimed elbow, my assailant was off-put just long enough for me to break free and head for the treeline… I didn't make it more than five paces before collapsing from feeling oxygen deprived and light headed. The next thing I remembered was blacking out under the environment of muffled shouting.

* * *

-=Present time=-

"Can I interrupt?" Martha asked as she paced back and forth slowly.

"You already did." I replied with a tap of the pause recording button.

"So, I know we've briefly talked about this, but I was wondering about those nightmares you have."

"They suck and people die in them, what more is there to say?"

"Well, I was talking about what happens when you wake up… your eyes change."

"What about them?" I asked in a deadpan.

"Why does it happen?"

"I don't really know, but I know Rachel is the one to blame for it... Can I continue now?" I asked with a board glance to the Woman pacing with a hand on her chin..

"One more?"

"* _Sigh*_ Yeah?"

"Do you still have panic attacks?" Martha asked with curiosity heavily laced into her voice

"Not so much anymore, but if something really startles me, then yeah, it can get pretty bad."

"Is that why you went into your room for a few days after we ended up here?" She inquired with worry.

"Yes." I grumbled.

"Okay, you can continue." She mumbled before wandering out of the bridge.

I nodded at her mumbled, and pressed the record button once more. "So, what happened was Jacqueline pushed me off the plane, and was planning to 'Romance the shit out of me'; It obviously backfired.

I was pissed to say the least, but it wasn't really me being mad at what she did, more of being mad at myself for not realizing it was just her."

"Um, Elliot?" Martha whispered from next to my ear.

"WHAT!?" I Squawked from the surprise of her sneaking back into the bridge without me knowing.

"We only have about twenty minutes left."

"Oh…" I said in realization of why she left the bridge momentarily. "Right, so skipping that whole fiasco, Jacqueline ended up liking that spot and within a month we were done planning our wedding."

* * *

-=Six months ago=-

"Elliot, could you come help me with the invitations?" Jacqueline shouted from upstairs.

"Could you do it? I'm pretty busy right now." I shouted in return while staring at a drop of water on the white table in front of me.

"Really?" She snipped from the bottom step with crossed arms; Scissors in one hand, and an envelope in the other. "Because it looks to me like you're staring at an empty table, and unless that's a new stealth thingy, I want you upstairs in one minute."

I didn't really pay attention to what she said as I continued to blankly stare at the bead of water.

"Elliot are you listening?" She squawked just before turning my head to face her irritated face. Almost immediately, her irritation changed to one of worry. "Elliot, why are you crying?" She cooed after setting the scissors down.

"I-I don't have any friends to invite. They're all dead." I choked before breaking down into a full sob.

"Come here." The feline gently ordered with outstretched arms. I immediately took them, and started weeping into Jacqueline's shoulder as she held me tight. "You still have Nick, and all of our neighbors."

"They a-aren't humans." I replied while gripping the fur on Jacqueline's shoulder-blades.

"Oh, Elliot, I'm sure you still have someone. How about Judith?"

"She'd be to busy to come."

" _Nonsense._ " She scolded. "You're going to invite her, and Sam, and Barry."

"Who's Barry?" I asked with a sniffle. How'd she know about Barry, I only talked to him once when Elliot U-0065 was in my body.

"From universe one. Now come with me." The feline added just before scooping me off my feet, an action that I evidently thought was funny enough to cancel out my crying.

"Help _*Sniff*_ I'm being kidnapped."

"Wrong context, I believe this would fall under sexual assault." She giggled while dipping to my face.

Despite my lack of living friends and family, Jacqueline assured me that at least Judith and Sam would show up for my wedding day, so I sent an invitation via the Quantum entangled communications drive in my basement to reach them, and a message using a device that drew energy from the power Zofia cursed me with to reach between dimensions. The weeks eventually turned into days, although I never heard a response from my invitations, and it broke my heart. I was already broken enough inside, and the only thing that kept me glued together was Jacqueline, but even she wasn't enough to keep me from sinking into depression.

"Elliot, we have to get ready to go." Jacqueline cooed while rubbing my shoulder from the other side of the blanket I was curled under.

"Just go without me." I replied.

"Elliot, it's our wedding; That requires both of us. I'm sorry your family didn't show up, but I'm sure they would've wanted to."

"You don't understand." I muttered as I curled tighter into a ball on our bed.

"Then tell me, Elliot. I'm trying to help you but all I'm getting is you sorry ass answers!" She shouted in anger.

"They can attend without even being here through a process called telepresence communications. It would seem like they were here, and you wouldn't know the difference, but they didn't even respond to my invitation." I replied without moving an inch.

". . . I'll be back in a few minutes, and when I do, I'll expect to see you dressed." She hissed before stomping down stairs.

I stayed all curled up for a minute or two, although I did eventually shuffle to the shower. After a whole lot of me just standing in the water, I dried myself off, and started putting on my dress white fleet admiral's uniform with saber. Everything was vacuum sealed long ago, and I never once wore the uniform during the war as there weren't any ceremonies to attend, not even respectable funerals.

Nevertheless, my pleat free pants and undershirt were still as new as the day I first put them on, and that was in no small part because the fabric was self-sanitizing. I was planning on just wearing the ribbons, and the medal of honor medal around my neck, but Jacqueline insisted that I wore every single medal I owned, making my left breast look like a giant cluster of baloney in my opinion. I did have a few ribbons on my right breast indicating the few wars I'd fought in, but still, having well over a dozen medals hanging off my coat was a bit messy for my taste.

I then strapped on my white belt, white socks, white shoes, and you guessed the color, white gloves and hat. "Where's my belt?" I asked myself after rummaging throughout my whole bag of dress uniform stuff. I needed the black sword belt to attach the Swecent Saber on my left, although I could always not wear it… "Jacqueline, have you seen a black, leather belt anywhere?" I shouted down the stairs.

"I have it." Ella replied from inside her room, moment's before appearing with the belt in question.

"Thanks." I said while wrapping the strap under my coat, then attaching the black scabbard of my saber to my left side.

"Hey, dad. I know this is a bad time, and a bad subject for you, but ever since you woke us up you've been different, and I really haven't had time to ask, but what happened to you?" Ella asked while leaning in her doorframe.

"I don't want you to worry about it." I said moment's before drawing the coal colored S.W.C.N.T saber and activating the plasma edge to test its viability.

"I worry _because_ I don't know." She replied as I casually swung the almost weightless, plasma edged sword around.

"… Very well." I said just before sheathing the sword in one fluid motion. "We lost everything, and I lost everyone I loved. I watched as countless men died around me, and I remember several occasions of some kid jumping in front of the plasma slug headed towards me because he new deep down that I was more important, and his death might mean his friends survival… the only one's I have left are you, mom, my sister, and my mother, and they can't even be bothered to come to my wedding."

"Oh… Well you still have me." The four foot, pure white vixen chirped just before she collided with my abdomen for a hug.

"And I always will, because someone has regenerative telomeres." I said while kneeling to return the hug. The instant, and I mean the absolute nanosecond our hug broke up, someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"Hey, Elliot. Sorry I'm late." Judith said with a sheepish smile. Just a foot behind here was Sam and another woman smiling and waving silently.

"Judith!" I squealed while wrapping my arms around her. Before I knew it, She lifted me clear off the ground and started spinning me around with her enhanced strength. "I missed you so much." I added with joyous tears streaming down my face.

"It's only been a few months." She replied with slight confusion.

"Eímai se polý kakí katástasi edó." I said with a tap to my head, which changed all three women's happy expression to one of worry.

"Ti synévi?" Sam asked in return.

"The war." I replied.

"Oh… Thélete na sas symvoulévo?" Sam asked with a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, just not until tomorrow." I said while putting my own gloved hand on hers. "But look at you both, dress whites!" I said in an attempt to change the topic.

"That won't work with me, Elliot." Judith said with crossed arms. "We're not going to that wedding until Mom's had ten minutes with you." She said while stepping in front of the stairs.

"Five minutes." I countered, fully knowing how long it would really end up feeling for me.

"Now it's twelve minutes... Bedroom" She ordered while pointing to the door.

"Hey, that's my room." Ella Interjected.

"I know, that's why I picked it. He'll have no chance of escaping." She replied with a smile. "Now go, the ceremony's in two hours."

I accepted my fate as Jacqueline, Ella, Sam, Judith, and the stranger with golden eyes stared me down, most of which knew how to fight just as well as me or even better in Sam's case. I laid down on Ella's fox sized bed, and closed my eyes for the imminent integration of brain to computer. I'll admit after five hours of therapy from Sam, I was feeling a lot better, and I must say I wasn't as afraid of abrupt noises, although they still made me jump by the time we were done.

"Now, we're going to keep at this every day until I deem you back to normal." Sam instructed once she withdrew her nanobots from my brain, effectively ending the simulation.

"I'm okay with that." I chirped while sitting upright. The looks on Jacqueline and Ella's faces were priceless from my seemingly sudden demeanor change, however, Judith and the stranger simply beamed a happy smile at me while stepping out of the way for me to pass.

"Are you ready to be my husband?" I asked Jacqueline, who only donned a suspicious squint. "Did you drug him? Because I'm fine with that in this instance." She asked with a glance to Sam, who only chuckled. "Elliot… Did she drug you?"

"Nope." I replied just before throwing her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Elliot, stop it!" She shrieked with laughter while batting away at my back.

"Neverrrrr!" I shouted just before opening the front door, and walking out onto the front lawn where I stood in a triumphant stance with my left hand on my hip and my right holding Jacqueline to my shoulder. "I CLAIM THIS FELINE AS MY OWN!" I shouted at my neighbors and other invitees, who were already standing somewhere in the cul-de-sac in preparations to be ferried to the wedding location. There were a few giggles from Jacqueline's bridesmaids, and a few hoots from the male guests.

"ELLIOT!" Jacqueline Squawked with embarrassment as she attempted to wiggle from my grasp. Once that didn't work, she began smacking my face with her tail in protestation.

"If you will all excuse me." I said just before darting back into my house, only setting Jacqueline down once the door was shut.

"I can't believe you would do that." She hissed with completely red ears and red showing through her fuzzy cheeks.

"You wanted me to be more exuberant."

"I will eat you alive if you do that again." She hissed with a playful nip into the air.

"Are you sure you should be saying things of such sultry in front of guests?" I whispered with a grin, causing the cat's ears to redden even further.

"I will destroy you." She whispered into my ear.

"I'm looking forward to it." I whispered back. "Now, shall we get the guests to the wedding location?" I asked with a single clap of my gloved hands.

"I have the blindfolds, and the Quirium is already loaded into the generator. I've selected the coordinates as well." Sam replied.

"Oh no. I was just going to ferry people in the jet."

"Nonsense. This way we can get everyone there in an instant." She countered.

"Well… If you say so." I said with uncertainty. Judith, Ella, and Jacqueline began blindfolding everyone that was going to attend while I introduced myself to the stranger. "I imagine you're another one of Sam's Ai's, the names E-"

"It's Martha ya goof." She interrupted before pulling me into a gentle, yet forceful hug.

"Huh?"

"Remember, we got new bodies. I sorta broke your shoulder on accident."

"OH, I remember now… Are you still in my car though?"

"Yep, and your jet, and your computer. I'm everywhere." She said with a smug grin.

"Well okay then… We should probably help blindfold everyone."

Once everyone was blindfolded, we began leading them into the basement for hyperspace transit to the wedding location.

"Elliot, if this is about trying to kidnap you for the bachelor party, I said I was sorry." Nick said with worry in his voice.

"Take care in your step, descending stairs are ahead." I said with a gentle push towards the stairs.

"Great, I'm about to be locked in a dungeon with thirty other mammals." Nick muttered to himself.

"If you were really scared, that pea shooter would be in your hand, not on your ankle." I teased the police officer in dress blues.

"At least I have a gun, all you have is a sword!" He shouted from almost the bottom step of the basement.

"Plasma sword, Afráta alepoú!" I shouted.

Sam was right, sending everyone thorough my wormhole generator was much faster than ferrying them two at a time. We had all the guests at the location within five minutes, and once I locked up the house and the basement, all but Sam walked through the blue portal so she could turn it off, and bring the jet to ferry people back due to the portal being one way.

 **(J.S. Bach - Suite for Solo Cello: cbc music)**

The place we chose was a relatively flat, grassy area protruding above the rest of the rolling hills in the area, and I'll admit she found a really good spot. The wedding arch was just on the edge of the knoll, and it made whomever was standing on it seem like they were on the edge of a cliff to onlookers. Food was towards the back in several aisles ,and I even made a predator only banquet that was guarded by Martha's drone due to it being synthetic meat. I almost considered not having her guard it because the audience was ninety percent predictor, excluding misses Wilde, and one of Ella's rabbit friends that found out about my secret.

The entire live orchestra off to the right of the altar consisted of men and women with golden colored eyes, meaning that they were Some of Sam's Ai subordinates. It would've seemed that even though My mother's appearance was last minute, she still managed to get a few dozen helpers to come along.

"Are you nervous?" Nick asked with a nudge to my side.

"Not a bit. I've lived through a lifetime of war. I think I can handle getting married, and if not, I always have a sword to defend myself." I joked with a lightning fast drawing of the sword to cut the blueberry Nick was holding in half.

"Whoa, careful there!" He griped as I sheathed the unactivated blade.

"Look at the berry." I said with a shit-eating grin.

"… Dude…" He awed at my precision.

"Nick, could you hold Violet for a minute, I have to go help Jacqueline get dressed."

"Carrots, he just cut a blueberry in half." Nick said while presenting the berry.

"Good for you." She replied before darting off to the Jacqueline's tent.

"I don't think she understood the part about the sword." I said with a gaze off into the setting sun.

"Human!" Violet blurted out while pointing at me.

"Yes, I am a human, and I helped create you." I said with a gentle boop to the hybrids nose, causing the kit to giggle uncontrollably.

"Don't tell her." Nick hissed.

"Sorry, sorry. Oh, I haven't had time to get your daughter a guardian yet, but I should have some free time in awhile. You wouldn't believe the advancements my mom's made in the field of artificial intelligence, Martha used to be a sentient drone, but now she's practically a hyper-intelligent human. She even pretends not to know some things just so she feels more human to us.

"Isn't your 'mom' a computer?" Nick asked with a squint.

"Why yes, yes I am." Sam replied while walking up to us. "Elliot, you never told me you created a hybrid." She said just before bending down to Violet. "I see you chose mostly fox traits, smart decision… And you must be the genetic material donor."

"Sam." I whined.

"What, I have to make him all nervous of me, after all, I am in charge of millions of war vessels all operated by Ai I designed."

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Nick asked with wide eyes.

"Oh certainly." She said just before bending to within inches of his face. 'I. Am. A. Ro-bot. I. Have. Many. Ships. _Khrrrrrrr."_ Sam teased while making rocket sounds and morphing her hand into the shape of a Farragut interdictor, paint colors and all.

"AHH!" Nick screeched with a recoil at the transformation of her hand to a spaceship.

"Nanotechnology my dear, Nick." She said before turning into a fluid like water, then encapsulating Nick up to his waist in silver liquid.

"I'm freaking out, Elliot." He said as the liquid formed a pseudopod that reached from his waist in origin up to an ear, where it began whispering. "ELLIOT, HELP ME!" Nick demanded.

"Mom, would you?" Just like that, the silvery liquid withdrew from Nick, and reformed in the shape of Sam with her Dress whites."

"Was that as good for you as it was for me?" She asked with a smirk.

Nick's reply was a horrified whimper as he visible shivered in distaste.

"Way to say hello, Mom." I said with a disappointed head shake.

"You know it!" She chirped while walking away.

"Elliot... You mom is _disturbing_." He said with another shiver.

"She's just scoping out my best man, that's all." I replied. "I wonder if my message reached barry?" I mumbled in self thought.

"Who?"

"Oh, he's another gene bearer from universe one. I met him about seven years ago, really nice guy."

"... And I used to think my life was complicated. Hey, is one of your military lady friends trustworthy enough to hold violet while we stand up there. I would give her to my mom, but I think she wants to take the video for you guys."

"Oh, Martha was going to have her drone record from an aerial view to create a holographic recording."

"Nevermind then. I need to go tell my mom." Nick said as he wandered off.

I walked around the plateau as everyone found their seats, and I eventually realized Barry wasn't going to show up. Not a huge deal, but it would leave me further lacking in groomsman department. I would've chosen Sam and Judith to be my groomsman, but that wouldn't exactly work, and all of my male friends died in the field of battle, so that really put the kibosh on human groomsman. I was planning on having Nick be my best man all along, however, it would've been nice to have more than one person standing up there with me.

Nevertheless, the two of us took our places by the wedding altar, and I handed Nick the other half of Jacqueline's graphite wedding ring. The pastor happened to be another one of Sam's Ai's in a priest's clothing, so that was different. When the music started playing, everyone went dead silent as they looked back for Jacqueline to emerge. I saw Martha's drone circling overhead, and then a bright ass vortex of blue color appeared in the middle of the aisle. "Oh, for crying out loud, now what?" I asked moments before two men emerged from the portal in tuxedos.

"Dude… I think we're late." The one with black hair running to his shoulder whispered to none other than Barry Allan.

"Get up here." I hissed while pointing next to a stunned Nick.

"Sorry about that!" Barry shouted to everyone. "This universe was a bit hard to find." He said just before noticing most of the audience was in fact animals.

"Umm, Elliot?" He asked with concern.

"Duuuuude, cool." Cisco said as he nodded his head up and down while looking around at the different species of mammals..

"Get out of the fricken aisle." I hissed.

"Sorry." He whispered while running up to Nick's side. Meanwhile, Cisco found the nearest seat with what he thought was a human but was in fact Martha giving him a disappointed stare.

"I had a hard time finding this planet." Barry whispered.

"That's nice to know, now shut up." I whispered as the music started over again.

Despite that small hiccup, everyone seemed to almost instantly forget it happened at the sight of Jacqueline coming into view. Her father was standing hand in hand with a smile on his face, a good thing considering he didn't want me to marry her to begin with. Then there was Jacqueline in all her beauty, a pure white dress reaching just below her feet, completely filled with embroidery, and a simple white veil covering her face.

"Elliot, you're one luck man." Nick whispered.

As Jacqueline took each step closer, my heart began racing faster and faster, and by the time she was standing in front of me, I felt like my heart was going to explode in my chest.

"Today there will be no dearly beloved, no betrothed, and no ancient rhyme of the married. Today there are no dead languages to solemnize vows that are very much alive and will remain so for a lifetime. Today promises become permanent and friends become family, however, this day is not about the words spoken or the rings exchanged, nor is it about grand pronouncements and recessional marches. This day, the day of Jacqueline and Elliot's wedding… is about love

One of my favorite authors once wrote _,_ 'If love is not all, then it is nothing; This principle, and its opposite, collide down all the years of my breathless tale.' Elliot and Jacqueline, your breathless tale is about to begin. If love is not all, then it is nothing. Its opposite; 'If love is all, then it is everything' is going to be the basis for every aspect of your relationship.

All you have to do is simply love one another and that love shows through in everything you do for one another, how you treat each other, in good times and bad. Love isn't just a word; it's an action .Love isn't something you say, it's something you do. Love is genuine, honest, and open, compassionate and kind, passionate and blind, love doesn't know space or time, nor does it look through jealous eyes, and in the modified words of Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, 'Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never dies.'

There are many different kinds of love, almost if not all of which are represented here today. There is romantic love, the love of parents and children, of brothers and sisters and family, and love among friends. Not only do Jacqueline and Elliot love one another romantically, they also love one another as friends. In fact, they're best friends, constantly giggling and taunting and teasing and very plainly and obviously having fun together.

That love and enjoyment of each other as best friends will sustain them through this marriage. In addition, the love collectively on this plateau, from friends and family, will help sustain and support the promises they make today. All of us here will help solidify this bond, as these two individuals are joined as husband and wife. This new journey will be at times richly rewarding and extremely difficult, but most importantly, it will be a journey you take together." The pastor with Golden irises proclaimed.

I must've had the most goofy grin on my face as I stared into Jacqueline's eyes, although a quick glance over to Judith wiped the smile right off. She was sitting politely, however, I could see her quietly yelling at someone through a radio transmitter.

"Elliot." The pastor said with a tap on my shoulder.

"Hmm?" I asked without a clue to why he was tapping.

"Do you take Jacqueline as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"Yes, I do." I replied as I returned my gaze to Jacqueline, shortly after, sliding the ring on her finger, which started to glow bright red.

"Oooh, fancy." Jacqueline replied, earning a bit of laughter from the crowd.

"And do you, take Elliot as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do." She replied while sliding my white ring on, which started glowing bright blue.

"Then I pronounce you husband and wife… You may kiss the bride."

Just like that, A massive cloud of purple lightning appeared about three kilometers away off in the sky, and just like that, a Majestic class interdictor appeared overhead, immediately firing its' cobalt blue beam drivers off into the air, well above us.

"So that's who she was yelling at." I mused while pulling Jacqueline in for a kiss, provoking a thunderous clapping of the audience as well as more weapons fire from the capital ship.

* * *

-=Present time=-

"So, that's about it… I'm glad I got to end my autobiography on a happy note. If you'll excuse me, I have to be sucked into a black hole now." I said before clicking the recorder off for the last time.

"That was wonderful, Elliot." Martha said as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"You were there, in fact, you still have the recording, don't you."

"Mayyyybeee."

"Uh-huh, maybe my ass… Well, I'm going to get some sleep before we die."

"OOH, can I come?" She chirped.

"Into my bed?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, into your shower. Where else would you be sleeping?"

"You know what I mean." I replied upon reaching the bride door.

"Yessss, I mean go to sleep with you; I've never slept with anyone, and I wanted to see what it was like." She said with innocence.

"First, Phrasing." I said while holding up a finger. "... Ehh, I suppose it doesn't matter now." I added with a shrug, eliciting Martha to immediately throw me over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Ooh, this is going to be so much fun!" The biological computer squealed giddily.

* * *

 **A/N: And that concludes the story. Before you go, I have a very serious and important question to ask all of you.**

 **Which story did you like more? 'The New Horizon Project' or 'The Gene bearer'**

 **Second, What made one better than the other, because I have a 460% view difference between the two, so I must've done something better in my first story.**

 **Third, would you like me to do a little bonus chapter of the reception? I've also thought about doing multiple bonus chapters summing up what happened to everyone after Elliot 'disappeared'**

 **Lastly; I've already started another sequel to this story involving a shared universe between myself and the writer 'Dexios', so check it out if you want to see more of Elliot's adventures.**

 **I hope you've enjoyed this book/story, and if not, lemme know what I did wrong so I can improve myself in the future.**


	23. Bonus Chapter 1: What Have I Done

_**A/N:**_ I highly, HIGHLY recommend you look up the one song I 'linked' in this chapter, it has this whole dialog thing that corresponds with what I wrote. Just so It doesn't screw with the 'flow' too much, you can preload the song. **Zack Hemsey - End Of An Era (With Reaper Speech)** I'm telling ya', it's worth it.

* * *

 _Bonus chapter One: What Have I Done_

* * *

"Expedition three-five-zero-two reporting in for the bi-monthly report. The date is January second, thirty-five sixty-seven… Eleven-hundred more star systems have been logged without any sign of my brother's ship, but I've made a discovery of another Uplink site for a possible Ai unlike any of the others we studied. This one seems to be completely inert, yet the instant we send down a drone to the surface, it loses contact with my ship... I didn't dare send any of my remaining crew down to its surface out of fear for awakening something else, just thought you should know.

Right now I'm losing hope in finding my brother… It's been five-hundred years, and I havn't found a trace anywhere along section fifty three. To my knowledge, all the other ships are having about as much luck as me, and I'm left with a deep wonder. . . How did his ship disappear with such a powerful location beacon? Anyway, Admiral Crawford signing off."

"First officer's log, December twenty-fifth, three-thousand seven-hundred and three. I'm reporting the effects of madness and paranoia are starting to set within Judith. Her crew is long dead, and she's been hitting on all of the other Ai, including myself almost nonstop. It is my belief this is her coping mechanism to being so alone out here. The last human she spoke with was almost one-hundred years ago, and the population is still dwindling due to the aftermath of the war. Almost seventy-five percent of all births are of infertile offspring, and Starfire is turning to drastic measures to keep humanity alive... I'm recommending we start cognitive counseling for Judith. Martha zero-two, signing off."

"Medical officer's report, thirty-eight seventy-two. Despite the first officer's attempt to dissuade the captain, we're headed to the class H planet discovered three-hundred years ago. Judith has long since recovered from madness, instead she now studies our memory banks for information in an attempt to keep up with out technological advancement. I commend her actions, but it would be impossible for her to ever keep pace with us. She's given up on Elliot Crawford, and I must say it's about time. We know he disappeared somewhere near the core, but beyond that it's a mystery and a charade to keep looking for him. Chief Medical officer DeForest Kelley signing off."

* * *

-=Judith Pov=-

"Martha? Could you answer a question for me? I can't seem to come up with a reasonable hypothesis." I asked into the air of my empty room.

"Sure, Judith." Martha replied as she appeared from a cloud of burning embers right behind me; About a century ago, the Ai's reverse engineered Zofia's transit method and have been using it ever since. I still find it unsettling because it's the very same mode as my defeated enemy.

"I was looking through my brothers old phycology records just before the time of his disappearance-"

"Judith." Martha interrupted with a hand on my shoulder. "It isn't healthy for someone to keep at this for nearly six-hundred years."

"Just hear me out. He said that he experienced dreams of a another version of his daughter, and in those dreams he shot her with a strange weapon… Martha, he perfectly described an XP-185 disintegrator. A weapon developed three hundred years after his disappearance."

"It could've been a coincidence." She replied a hair faster than one normally would reply.

"Martha, my hair may be gray, and my skin may be wrinkly as shit, but I'm not an idiot. Even before the war, we were experimenting with time travel, and Elliot documented the Guardians were capable of time travel, including trans-dimensional travel. So don't you go telling me that Starfire hasn't reverse engineered at least some of it." I retorted while standing from the desk at which I was sitting. Next thing I know, another cloud of embers behind Martha appeared.

"What now? Are you going to lock me up again, and say I'm being ' _helped'_? Well I'll have you know that I have no intent of being your prisoner again." I said just before creating a bright white sphere of energy within my hands.

"Judith? Where'd you learn how to do that?" Martha asked with a cautious step back.

"What, did you think when I disappeared in that facility I just wandered about in the darkness?" I asked incredulously. "You think that when my DNA was changed I wasn't any different?"

"Judith, it's just me." Sam said as her body continued to materialize.

"Oh, don't you just 'it's me' me! You fully knew I was being held against my will!"

"Darling, please." Sam softly beckoned with a step forward.

"I will send this right into your mainframe if you don't back off." I hissed as I opened a blue vortex leading to Starfire's main computing core.

"Judith… I've lost everyone in my family but you. I can't lose you too." She said as a tear rolled down her face.

"I'm not your family!" I screamed, causing a startled jump from both Ai's. "Now tell me why you sent Elliot's daughter back in time." I demanded. As a show of my threat not being vain, I fired a portion of the white energy into the vortex, causing a pained wince from Sam as her mainframe was damaged.

"Okay! I sent her back to bring Elliot forward in time. I was going to replace him with an artificial copy so I could take care of him." She answered as more tears rolled forward.

"I can't believe you… You would take Elliot from his own life just to sate your own pre-programmed longing to see him?-No! don't even answer me… and don't try to follow me." I warned while rerouting the vortex to the Class H planet.

"Judith, please don't go there. I don't know what's under the surface of the planet, and I can't even land units without them being killed." Sam begged. "I will get on my knees if it will convince you to stay with me."

"I'm not stupid enough to stay here." I hissed just before jumping in the vortex. It might seem like a rash turn of events, but that animosity was building for hundreds of years in silence. I made a mistake when I didn't shut that computer down the moment Elliot told me he let her start upgrading herself… Now it was too late and she was far too powerful for me to defeat.

Was I an enemy to her now? Maybe. But as long as the planet my organic void-space gateway was taking me to was able to hold her off, I didn't care. To be honest, I wasn't actually sure _any_ of the power I had would work. I remember Elliot bringing me to secret meetings without any technology just to tell me I was like him, but damn. I never thought I would be able to do what I just did. Not too bad for my first try... Then again, I did spend decades reading Elliot's hand written notes on how he accessed and controlled his power to achieve what he did.

And the Ai thought I was reading their technological advancements.

"Aww shit!" I mumbled into the tunneling vortex ahead of me out of realization that the atmosphere was comprised heavily of argon. It still had oxygen, but I would be dead in minutes. "No, I can do this." I affirmed as the tunnel opened up to an alien forest. I was going to filter the air with a power Elliot called PK. I just didn't really know how to use PK other than through his notes, let alone identify two invisible gases and separate them.

…Yeah, that Idea didn't really work out. I found myself gasping for air in seconds, and by the minute mark my chest was heaving and I'd collapsed on the green ground below. I remember the distinct sensation of everything fading away, almost peacefully… ya-know, besides me heaving for air. I do remember the sounds of footsteps on a tiled floor now that I think about it.

"Wake up." Someone said as they gently shook me in my bed.

"Five more hours, Martha." I whined in mumbled.

"I'm not Martha." The voice replied indignantly.

"I don't care which Ai you are, leave me alone. Ase me ísycho." I repeated in Greek.

"Alison, wake your ass up. I need to talk to you."

I instantly shot upright at the sound of that name. "How do you know... _What the Fu_ -"

"Good morning to you too." An almost exact copy of myself interrupted. The only difference between myself and this woman was she looked like a much younger version of myself.

"Dammit, Martha. You know I don't like you playing with the nanotech."

"I'm not nanotech, Judith. I've taken the liberty of removing the implant running from your brain down your spinal column. Satcom shouldn't be able to track you now… The name's Alison. My last name is pretty hard to pronounce, so I'll just skip it." The woman with green eyes and blond hair chirped with an extended hand. I simple stared at Alison's extended hand for a good few seconds before she dropped it to her side. "Huh, I could've sworn you did that in this universe." She added in a whisper.

"Where am I?"

"Ironically, it's called the core. NOT the core you're familiar with... I like your powers, as rudimentary as they may be." She added for no apparent reason.

"I don't have any powers." I replied while rubbing my eye.

"Uh-huh. Then exactly how did you get here via what you called an organic void-space gateway?" She asked with crossed arms.

"Uhh... Fuck yooooooo." I Sung just before launching a beam of white energy at the woman to make my escape. I began running off into the pearly black hallway just outside my cell, and I found no resistance as I made my escape. For wherever this place was, it sure wasn't very heavily guarded.

"Ah-ah-ah. You can't leave just yet." The woman said as I found myself sitting back in the bed, this time with electromagnetic handcuffs around my wrists.

"What! I just launched a beam of energy at you and ran off!" I Squawked with disbelief.

"No, you just thought about doing that, but I intercepted the thought and put you in cognitive cascade for a few seconds."

"You did what now?" I asked in bewilderment.

"I froze your brain for a few seconds." Alison replied as a dark blue, glowing substance arced between her fingers and illuminated all throughout her arms, almost like the substance was running through her veins on the arm. "It's a bit beyond your scope of knowledge right now, but I'd like to change that."

I remained in silence for the next minute or two as I thought about the chances of this being one of Sam's ploys to keep me in her presence. " _No, I definitely made it through the wormhole, but I fell unconscious on the planet's surface, so how-"_

"Ahh, yes. This planet is our instillation for this universe. We detected the energy signature of your portal, and began tracking to where it led. I noticed you fired zephyr energy at your adoptive mother. Why did you do that?" The woman asked before sitting in a chair across the hall from my open energy based cell.

"First, that energy is not gentle. And second; You can read my mind?"

"First, yes. That white ball of floofy energy is quite soft to me. And second; It would appear that way, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess that was a pretty dumb question." I replied before I began pacing pace back and forth within the metallic gray cell.. "My 'Mother' as you called her, has kept me under surveillance for hundreds of years. She's a computer program with a sense of impunity, and it worries me."

"Because she discovered time travel?" Alison asked with a hand on her chin. "Because we've been monitoring her excursions into the past to make sure that there isn't a major split in the timeline. So far the only thing we've done to intervene was with your brother killing his daughter. We had to go back in time and prevent that event from taking place."

"So, the pistol he described… and the dreams." I started to ponder.

"They're what we call Zerosha's… A time after-image of sorts. Anyway, we seem to be getting off track. I saved you from suffocation because I believe you would be very valuable to my outpost."

"Your outpost?" I asked with a halt in my pacing.

"Oh, don't give me that. We never settled for second place."

I couldn't help but chuckle at the truth in her statement. "You have me intrigued. I just have one request if I join you." I found an affirmative nod from Rachel as my only response. "I'd like your help putting an end to the Ai's." I said from about an inch away from the energy barricade keeping me in my cell.

"... Done." Alison replied as my handcuffs dematerialized and the energy barricade deactivate. "Come with me to see the end of the Ai's. Crawford bring up the XP-55, we have a galactic wipe to perform." She said into the air while motioning me to follow her down the hall.

"Crawford?" I asked upon reaching the left side of my doppleganger.

"Yes. Elliot from my universe, he's my boyfriend." She added with a silly smile. I raised an inquisitive finger to ask the obvious question on my mind at hearing my brothers name, even if it was just another version. It seemed Alison was ready for my question, and she beat me to the punch in my question asking. "You can talk to him when we reach the command room, now step into this chamber." She ordered with a gesture to a vertical cylinder embedded into the wall.

I did as asked without hesitation since this woman seemed to have powers far beyond my own. The second the glass door rolled in front of me, I found myself covered in warm water. Perhaps a decontamination chamber.

"I'll be back in twenty minutes, enjoy the shower." Alison said just before the glass flashed to a milky white color.

"Shower?… I'm actually having a shower!" I Shouted in joy while pulling off my dark blue clothing. As the water pelted my hair, I smelled that iky hair smell after you havn't had a shower in a week, except multiplied by a thousand. I wasn't dirty from dirt per-say, it was more of an oily type dirt from being in a ship without anything except a sonic cleaner for almost a millenia.

For at least the first five minutes, I simply stood in the glow of warm water without a care as to what would happen when I exited the shower. Once those five minutes passed, I opened my eyes and looked to see how much different my skin was in a clean state. "What?" I asked while looking at my arm. It was there, but it wasn't wrinkled anymore, perfectly young and restored. Almost immediately after this grand discovery, I pulled my hair in front of me, and lo and behold, my gray hair was blond just like I was twenty again.

I began hysterically laughing in joy that I didn't look like a grandma anymore; I wasn't suppose to look like that to begin with, but the Genetic enhancements in my body only half worked. I would've lived forever, although my skin would age seemingly at a one to a hundred time ratio. Hence looking eighty at the age of eight-hundred. I can only imagine what I would look like after two millennia.

I'd hardly began scrubbing myself down when someone knocked on the glass door and a screen popped up in front of me, displaying Judith in a parade rest stance. "Can I have five more minutes? I got all caught up in being young again." I shouted through the glass.

"Sure thing." Alison answered with a smiling nod.

Once I was done with my shower, the water shut off automatically, almost like it was reading my thoughts and knew the instant I wanted to be done. The next thing I knew it, all the water was sucked off my body like it was magnetized. Going a further step into the spectrum of strange, my body was covered in clothing that simply materialized around me. "Hey, this is my G-suit." I said with a tap on the Multicam compression suit.

"Yes, yes it is." Judith said as the glass door rolled away. "So, are you ready to see what this place is?"

"No, I think I'd like to wait another year or two."

"Okay." She said with a shrug. "I'll see you in a year." Alison said as she walked away.

' _She can't be serious.'_ I thought as my copy simply continued walking away. I only decided that I would pursue her when she disappeared around a corner. "Wait! I was just kidding." I shouted in an attempt to catch up.

"I know, I'm just being silly." She said from right next to me.

"What? How did you do that." I asked with a glance to my surroundings. "Hey! You did that time freeze thing again."

"I only have limited time before you'll be able to counteract it, so I have to get my pranks in now."

"I wouldn't really call that a prank, more of a mild annoyance." I replied.

"Yeah, a prank. We don't really get to have fun around here, not because it's against the rules, but because no one wants to play any games."

"Uh-huh… Can I ask you some questions?"

"Sure, but we have a ways to walk, so let's get going." Alison said with a gesture down the black marble hallway.

"So, I read in Elliot's logs that he knows of almost ten thousand universes, two that's he's explored, and one that he theorized existed." I said.

"Oh?" She Asked.

"He called this one universe The Core, Universe Zero, and Harbinger. Said it was immensely advanced."

"Huh, I never thought he actually found our universe. No matter, now that's he's in orbit around Sagittarius A no one else will know our secret."

"WHAT!?" I screeched.

"Oh yes, that's where he is, and it's only been a few days for him. I can even tell you what happens after he's sucked in since I'm a time manipulator."

"Elliot's alive." I whispered as tears formed in my eyes.

"He will be for the next two-thousand years."

"I can save him… I-I can bring him home." I said with more tears.

"I'm sorry, but no. One of the Guardians put him in orbit, and as our rules state, we can't intervene unless he causes a distortion in the timeline. Besides, think about what you would be bringing him back to. Your galaxy is on the brink of total extinction and all of his family is gone besides you. The universe he's headed to is prepared to inhibit his power upon arrival, and the person running Universe Nine-three-zero-seven is going to make sure he recovers from this universe. I really am sorry for what your family has gone through in such a short time span." She said in a downcast tone.

Deep down, I knew she was right and that it was selfish to bring him home, but I really wanted to talk with him just one last time. "I understand… Who do you work for?" I asked in an attempt to distract myself.

"An organization that preserves the multiverse. We work from remote stations such as this one to monitor the populations of any given universe. Once they reach a certain point in technology that would jeopardize the timeline and/or other universes, we have to destroy them. This is the reason your Galaxy is dying and will inevitably die. The artificial intelligence SATCOM has already presented itself as a nuisance, and you asking me to kill it puts the last nail in the coffin for termination… I remember the last species we had to eradicate… I've dealt with fifteen species in this universe, and will deal with another three dozen before my time is up."

"Wait. How do you know the exact number?" I asked, fully choosing to ignore my doppelganger's confession to ending my species.

"I'm a time manipulator, I manipulate time. It's the same way I made you think you escape when you never actually left the bed. Anyway, we're here." She said as a door opened to reveal a massive indoor coliseum with a monumentally sized projector displaying the entire galaxy center. There were seven colors dotted around the map, some of which were much larger than others. It took me awhile, but I started recognizing the colors as territories between the different species. What I didn't understand was why there were seven colors.

I knew green was the Daurilians as they started terraforming planets just like we did long in the past. Orange belonged to the Thargoids, and I saw that their populated space was much larger than it was in the past. There was a yellow section of space near edge of the outer arm as well as a bright blue portion almost a hundred light-years in diameter near the furthest edge of the Scutum-Centaurus arm.

"Is the purple color Sam's AI?" I asked in reference to the largest population on the map, which took up almost half of the galaxy.

"Yes. We were planning to deactivate them because of the ships being sent here by the hour. If they were to amass a whole war party, we'd have to call in a backup cruiser and that would jeopardize our anonymity."

"You mean to say a single one of your ships could defeat her entire fleet?"

"Absolutely. Judith, we've spread throughout the entire multiverse as the police so to speak. Our people have extended beyond the edge of the universe just to see what would happen."

"What happened?" I asked as we approached a desk near the top level of the facility.

"They died, just like we thought."

"Oh, that's anticlimactic."

"Sometimes things aren't as amazing as we thought. Crawford! Fire up the XP-55!" She shouted into the hoard of people within the facility. "So, are you ready to end the Ai's? Because if not. I'm going to do it anyway."

"Can I press the button?" I asked like a child, which almost immediately ended in an oversized red button of comical appearance being handed to me.

"Seriously?" I asked skeptically.

"Yep, press it when you're… really, you already pressed it."

"What? Was I supposed to make a countdown or something?" I asked while studying the holographic map, which showed a ripple of Purple inhabited space to turn back to a blank color. Whatever the XP-55 was, it ripped through the Ai's In minutes. The entire galactic map showed a total collapse of the Ai's par for one signature near the galactic core.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Elliot's Martha Zero-one. We left it unaffected so he didn't go insane. I also thought she might be different than Sam was since Elliot taught her, not the other way around… also, she totally has a thing for him." Alison added nonchalantly. "I'll be here to get you in two days, these are your quarters. Glad to have you here, Galactic Tracker." The woman said seconds before I found myself laying in the bed of a lavish room dotted with all sorts of amenities.

"What did I just do?" I asked into the room.

"You prevented a time distortion." A deep, computerized voice said into the room.

"Uhh… Who are you?" I asked upon standing from the bed to search for the mysterious voice.

"I'm here to tell you what will happen to your galaxy in the coming years. You may not like it, but I must reset the cycle to prevent destruction of all."

 **Zack Hemsey - End Of An Era (With Reaper Speech)**

"Could you give me a few days? I don't really want to hear this right now." I added while padding to a rolling chair.

"No, you must hear the tale of Universe Zero. I do not wish to disturb your mind, however, this is quite disturbing to an organic such as yourself."

"Great, are you another computer? Because I've just about had it with computers and slaughter." I replied.

"There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own, you can not even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I... am Sovereign."

"Uh-huh. Are you a computer?" I asked.

"Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding. Reaper, a label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they chose to call us is irrelevant. We simply are.

Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years, and decades; You wither, and die... We are eternal, the pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable, we are the end of everything."

"I'm sure someone will survi-"

"Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken. The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance, and at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished.

My kind transcends your very understanding. We are each a nation, independent, free of all weakness. You cannot even grasp the nature of our existence. We have no beginning... we have no end... we are infinite. Millions of years after your civilization has been eradicated and forgotten, we will endure.

We are legion, the time of our return is coming. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world. You can not escape, your doom. We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution, and you exist because we allow it, and you will end because we demand it.

I am the vanguard of your destruction. This exchange is over."

"Who are the Protheans!?" I demanded, only finding silence in my new room. "Aww fuck!" I Hissed with worry as to my future and who I just got into bed with.

Some of what ' _Sovereign'_ said didn't even make sense. We were already pretty much gone, so why would it need to arrive with numbers that would 'darken the sky of every world'? What could possibly be left of our civilization that would pose such an enormous threat, especially now that all the Ai's have been shut down. Our population was under five-thousand. I suppose based on the map I saw of the Thargoids, it looked like they'd advanced far ahead, and the Daurilians were in the twenty-eighth century of technology, so maybe they reached their 'apex'?

"Am I really supposed to help commit genocide?" I asked with depression.

"I'm afraid so." Alison replied from behind me, eventing in a startled jump on my part. "It's not an easy job." She said while unbuttoning her navy blue shirt. "But it has to be done by someone. Imma go take a shower, be out in a while."

"Wait, I thought this was my room?" I asked.

"Well, technically we're the same person, so it's _our_ room. You should get some rest, I have a lot to teach you in the next few decades."

"But decades take _For EVER._ " I whined, only getting a dismissal wave from Alison as she disappeared into another room. "Wonderful, it's like the SDI all over again."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks to Dexios for giving it a once over.**

 **Did any of you find the two references?**


	24. Bonus Chapter 2: The Reception

_**Authors Note: Just to remove any confusion, this happened chronologically before the first bonus chapter.**_

* * *

 _Bonus chapter Two: The Reception_

* * *

"Jacqueline… We're actually married now!" I whispered enthusiastically as I held the leopard tight.

"Elliot? That ships on our side, right?" Barry inquired anxiously.

"Yeah. It's one of our outdated interdictor class capital ships, pretty small compared to the one's we have now." I replied while grasping one of Jacqueline's paws.

"SMALLER! I'll be back, I gotta get a closer look." He said as his eyes flashed with orange lightning.

"Whoa there, Lightning pants; I'll give you a tour in a while." I replied a few moments before the capital class beam drivers ceased fire.

"Really? Oh, this is going to be so cool… _Besides_ how cool it is for you to be getting married." He said in a feeble attempt to hide his obvious lack of interest in my wedding.

"Barry, your facial expression betrays you." I replied in a chuckle. " _Talk later_." I mouthed as Jacqueline pulled me down the aisle. I almost completely forgot about the Crawford family tradition when it comes to marriages… almost. I had just enough time to see the weapon being drawn by a smirking Judith, and next thing I knew it, I was hit with a sonic crowd control rifle at point blank. The weapon itself was so powerful it pushed me back at least a foot through the air, followed by my body unceremoniously hitting the red carpet below.

Dang, I remember telling Judith to stop whining when she was shot, but man, I never realized how much those things hurt. Jacqueline was obviously in on it because she didn't even help me stand up from the kinetic injury.

"It's okay everyone, this is something his family does whenever someone gets married." Jacqueline assured the crowd of worrisome animals.

"Dude… Your family is badass." Cisco said with an affirming nod as he helped me to my feet.

"Thanks." I replied with a grimacing smile from the pain. "Were even now." I said with an accusing finger point to Judith, who simply shrugged her shoulders as the rifle responsible for my pain automatically folded up into a small briefcase shape.

We finished our ceremonial walk down the red carpet, although since there wasn't really a building to leave, we simply invited everyone to the free food. All the Ai's acted as ushers for the civilians, who were invited to several activities we planned to host after the ceremony.

Jacqueline wanted me to give the guests a ride in the YF-185 upon request, however, since the Ai's unexpectedly showed up, they simply took remote control of the jet and flew people in proximity to the Replicator. I prepared an entire rifle range with everything scaling up from handguns to three artillery batteries aimed in the general direction of a mountain in the distance. Once again, some of Sam's Ai subordinates directed the guests how to use them; I'm actually pretty sure there was only one or two Ai in the whole area, and they were just controlling multiple bodies at once.

"Elliot, I wanna open the presents now." She said with a childish point to the table of wrapped gifts.

"But most of them are baby raising things." I replied.

"How would you know?" She inquired with a squint.

"Martha told me; She can't keep anything that's not classified a secret."

"Ugh, that's no fun… Okay, let's go have food then." The spotted feline said while dragging me towards the food.

"You're quite exuberant." I commented as we wove by a few talking guests.

"It's our wedding, Elliot; We have to make all the memories we can." At her utterance I abruptly stopped, causing Jacquline to almost fall back backwards from the tug on her arm.

"We're going to make memories all throughout our lives, today is just the beginning, Gatáki." I murmured as my hands wrapped around her fluffy back.

"Would everyone please join us at the dancefloor, it's time for the first dance." I heard someone announce through the INV Replicator's megaphone. With a quick glance to my surroundings, I realized we were standing smack in the center of the dancefloor.

"Uhh… Jacqueline, I don't dance anymore." I whispered with concern as droves of the guests started surrounding us, ninety percent of which were Jacqueline's invitees.

"Elliot, no one's going to judge you. Just take my hand." She assured.

 **A Lover's concerto - Classical Guitar**

When the music started playing, we began swaying back and forth, though I was far from ease, even if everyone watching me was either someone I or Jacqueline knew.

"I don't like them staring at us." I whispered.

"Just ignore them. We're here to have fun, and none of them matter right now." She replied.

We continued to sway back and forth, and I found that I wasn't searching for an escape route, or where the nearest piece of solid cover was after a while. I almost felt like I should've been analyzing my surroundings, although I couldn't help staring into Jacqueline's eyes. Every time she faced into the sunset, there was a certain glow that emanated from her spotted face, and every time I was facing into the sun, she had rays of light surrounding her; It was the perfect balance of beauty in my eyes.

"Whatcha looking at, Mister?"

"The most beautiful house cat alive." I murmured.

"Well, this house cat can get feisty." She jested with a nip at my shoulder.

I don't know what it was about her playfulness, but it set something off inside me, and with the next blink I found my vision heightened. This wasn't a normal change for me… well, 'normal' is pushing it a bit far. I suppose it was something that became normal to me, however, most people wouldn't consider having your eyes change from round to a vertical slit 'normal'.

"Uh-oh." I mumbled. This was something different, something I could tell was affiliated with having triple bonded DNA. Nevertheless, I tried to blink it away as I did when my eyes changed shape every so often.

"Elliot… they're quite pretty." She whispered as my vision enhanced even further, signaling the transformation to that of a golden eagles eye. Including the sharpness of an apex predator, whatever Rachel did to me all those months ago made it so in this 'mode' if you could call it that, allowed me to see most of the electromagnetic spectrum.

"I… I can see everything in your body." I mumbled with a distant stare. I saw the infrared heat radiating from Jacqueline's face, all the organs and bones within and what was clear behind her with the vision cursed to me. Thankfully, it was wiped away with the change back to a light blue cat's eye.

"Elliot, look at me. Everything is going to be fine." Jacqueline assured while clasping the sides of my head.

"...Fine; Of high quality, second to none." I mumbled at a level of incoherence that only Jacquline would be able to hear.

"Elliot? You are okay, right?" She worried with splayed ears and a gentle shake of my head.

"Jacqueline Crawford; synonym of fine." I replied with the same distant stare into her eyes, earning a reddening of the feline's ears as my reward. "Everything is going to be okay." I added with a gentle smile." Today Isn't about to be ruined just because of my DNA." I prophesied before pecking her on the muzzle.

"I think this day went perfectly, even if your eyes look like Ella's." She responded quietly.

"I think it did too. But are you sure me getting all depressed this morning isn't a deal breaker?" I posed.

"I'm not even going to answer that. Instead… I propose we go somewhere nice and quiet, all by ourselves-"

"I like where this is going."

"And you can give me a paw rub." She added with a smirk.

"... Oh, I'll rub more than your feet."

"Ooh, good comeback… If we were ten years old." Jacqueline simpered with a cocked head.

"Well, I'm just over ten quadricentennial's old… so does give me access to more than your feet." I replied as the song started to come to a close.

" That's like… four-thousand years. I think you have the wrong word."

"I'm pretty sure it also means twenty-five years... A quarter of a century." I added in a whisper that turned into a peck on the cheek.

"Pff, whatever. Just shut up and do something romantic." Jacqueline ordered.

Without another word, I slowly leaned in for another kiss, and as the centimeters between us faded away, her face started glowing brighter and brighter as my eyes shifted back to an eagles, giving her an indescribable beauty of infrared light emanating from her fluffy cheeks. As if the cluster of guests were waiting for that moment, the entire dancefloor was filled with the sounds of clapping.

"So, my Queen; What should we do now?" I queried.

"Food, guns, airplane, cake." She replied in an order as my eyes shifted back to normal.

"Well, Madam. Shall we go?" I asked with my elbow extended for the feline to hitch her slender arm into.

The food was relatively uneventful with a few conversations varying from 'Why were your eyes strange?' to 'How'd you get access to all this stuff?'. Barry was being seduced by one of the Ai's for who knows what reason, and Cisco was attempting to interrogate Judith about her sonic weapon, an endeavour that ended with Cisco coughing on the ground in pain from being ' _educated on its operation'_. As per the Queen's orders, weaponry followed in the order of things we were going to do.

"What do you want to shoot first?" I asked as we approached the dugout shooting bunker with camo netting as a roof.

"The big cannon." She replied in a childish tone with a point to the M777 near the very end; Hey, just because the system is old, doesn't mean it won't kill things with up shells.

"It's an artillery howitzer, my Dear. And don't you think you should start out small so the other guns will be just as fun?"

"No. I wanna shoot the big one. C'mon, I only got to shoot the big gun on the ship once before." She pouted with crossed arms.

"Jacqueline, that was a class seven railgun... It shoots thermonuclear bombs at mach twenty-three. This is a bit smaller." I replied with a raised eyebrow. "Besides, you didn't ' _shoot'_ the gun, you just told the officer to fire."

"Tomáto, potäto." She replied.

"Uh-huh… Well, if you insist on firing the artillery first, which one do you want to f-"

"All three!" She interrupted. "And I want my big, strong admiral to be the loader." Jacqueline added with a coquettish drag of her claws down my dress white coat.

"But, I'm not an artillery crewman."

"Oh…" She said with flattened ears. "So you don't know how then."

"I didn't say that, I just meant-"

"GOOD! Come load this one for me." Jacqueline interpolated as she padded towards the short range artillery system

"Walked right into that one, didn't you?" Judith snickered with a nudge of her elbow.

"This is a six crew weapon, I'll just have to enlist the help of a certain president."

"... But…. I don't wanna load the gun!" She squawked in return.

"Ella, we're going to fire the one-fifty-five!" I shouted in the direction of the food tables. In six seconds flat, Ella was standing in front of me with a half eaten biscotti in one hand, and some sort of chocolate in the other. "Ella, is that-"

"Don't worry, it's not enough to make me sick." She replied with a bite of the chocolate, which smeared all over her pure white fur.

"Well, just be careful, okay?" I asked with hints of worry. It wasn't like she would be in serious danger, but still.

"Yeah, Dad. Who's going to do what? Cuz the four of us isn't enough to crew the gun."

"It'll just take a bit longer; I'll load the shell since I'm the strongest." Judith begrudgingly volunteered as the three of us circled up; Jacquline was already pestering one of Sam's ai's about the artillery system.

"Jacquline can operate the the firing system. I'll load the powder and close the breach."

"But, all that leaves is the targeting system, and the feed ramp." Ella whined.

"Hey, I'll gladly have you help me load the rounds, Ella." Judith replied.

Ella's response was one of mopery and sadness. "But I wanna fire the gun too."

"Ella, you can shoot it after Mom's done." I answered sternly.

"Yes, Sir." She mumbled.

It seemed as though Jacqueline already asked one of the Ai's about the howitzer, because once we descended the few steps into the dugout, We were handed ear protection. I took my place on the left side of the system, just next to the breach. Ella stood to my right at the elevation and azimuth controls. Judith took her place by the shells, and the ram-rod, and finally, Jacqueline held onto the firing string. Just like the first dance, everyone stood at the safety distance, and watched with complete silence as I nodded to the Nanite man in multicam fatigues.

"Fire mission, when ready! Five rounds, Joji PPD. Load alpha whisky, charge zero-zero! Deflection, three-three-zero-seven, quadrant Four-three-six!" The Ai shouted to us at a rapid pace.

Immediately, All three of us went into action; Ella slewed the gun up and slightly to the right, I ran for two powder charges just a few feet away, and Judith grabbed one of the shells and threw it onto the feed ramp.

"Ready to drop!" Judith shouted once the ramrod was lined up behind the shell. By this point, Ella was on the other side of the weapon with Jacqueline to control the feed ramp. When she pressed the lever, the shell was dropped in front of the breach, and Judith rammed it in with immense force. "Ready round!"

I then leaned over the recoil mechanism, setting the two powder charges on the feed ramp to slide them into the breach. Once they were in, I raised my arms up into two right angles as a show I was clear of the feed ramp, prompting Ella to raise the ramp back up with the hydraulic lever. The breach was closed via another lever I had control of, which was on my left, just next to the arming lever. With a flick of my wrist, the breach dropped down, and turned a quarter turn, full locking the round in.

"Standby!" The Ai's shouted.

"Primed!" I replied after pulling the arming lever. Once everyone was off the Howitzer, the Ai raised his hand and looked towards Jacqueline, who was smiling like a kid in a candy store as she pulled the slack out of the firing string.

"Fire!"

* * *

The rest of the reception went by faster as I became more comfortable with everyone eyeballing me, and once the light was gone from the land, we were graced by several spotlights from the INV replicator. Eventually, people started departing via shuttles provided by the decommissioned capital ship, and by eleven there were just a few of us left talking around a firepit that was burning the dance floor… It may have been my idea.

The remainder of our guests included my remaining family, and the two invitees from U-0001. We were all sitting on couches brought down from the INV Replicator, and I had a few sweatsuits brought down for everyone… Well, Sam was the one that actually put in the order, I just asked her for something else to wear.

"Sorry about not realizing the language barrier you have."

"Nah, we kinda just kept our distance from all the animals anyway." Cisco replied.

"Yes, Martha zero-three was keeping you quite entertained." Sam replied with a leering gaze.

"...H-how did you know that?" Cisco replied in an uneasy falsetto.

"Martha's one of my high ranking officers, I know everything she does." Sam answered, eliciting a most anxious cough from Cisco.

"Cico, what did you do with Martha?" Judith asked with a suppressed grin.

"NOTHING!" He yelped instantly. Meanwhile Ella was giggling away, and Jacqueline buried her face into my stomach for reasons unknown.

"Cisco… You're an idiot." I grumbled with a disapproving shake of my head. "Martha Zero-three is an LSBD."

"Oh, thank God. I thought you were going to tell me she was a robot." He said with a grab at his heart.

"L.S.B.D., Life Simulating Bio Droid." I added, which caused the hispanic man with long black hair to flat out faint next to Barry, who was in full facepalm mode.

"Can we find a different topic?" Barry asked.

"Sure, Have you learned any new powers, Lightning pants." I inquired.

"It's The Flash, and not really." Her replied with mild irritation. "What about you, _L-Rad_." Barry added with heavy emphasis on the nickname Cisco gave me over a decade ago.

"They're all gone, Mate. Snatched away by the very force that gave them to me… It's actually _way, WAY_ more complicated than that, but it matters not."

"So, let me get this right? _ALL_ of your powers are completely gone?" Barry asked skeptically.

"Technically, I still have the triple bonded DNA, and I still have all the power; It's just been inhibited by something that I've yet to discover." I replied while stroking Jacqueline's head, which was still situated in my lap.

"The good part is he's still genetically compatible with me." Jacqueline noted.

"Uh-huh." Barry replied with suppressed revulsion. "How exactly does that stay bonded? I'm no expert, but I thought stuff like that doesn't work.

"I have _no_ idea. Technically, I should fall apart right now, but something keeps the DNA together… I try not to think about it too much."

"Dude, I bet I could find something with our new electron microscope. You could come back and I could take a sample." Cisco blurted as if he never fainted to begin with. It was kinda unsettling to see him passed out one second, completely coherent the next.

" _Duuuuuudddee…_ We have gluon level microscopes." Judith replied in a mock from across the firepit.

"Come on, Judith. Our visitors don't know that." Sam chastened with a nudge of the shoulder.

"I'm sorry, who are you again?" Barry asked.

"I'm a computer." She replied with a slight readjustment on the couch.

"But seriously, aren't you like their parents or something?" Cisco asked.

"I'm that as well; Doesn't mean I can't be a computer too." Sam stated just before standing from her seat.

"Sam?" I asked with suspicion as she padded to Barry and Cisco.

"Giving proof." She answered with a smile.

"* _Sigh*_ Just don't break them." I said with a disapproving head shake.

"I'm sorry, did you say ' _break'_?" Barry asked with a questioning finger raised. Sam simply grabbed the finger and began enveloping it with her arm. Within ten seconds, Barry was completely encased in Sam's silvery nanites all the way up to his neck. "I don't get it, I can't get out." He said in a grunt as his body vibrated to the point where his entire head was a blur and his speech was completely distorted.

Meanwhile, Cisco was completely preoccupied with poking the solution. "This is amazing." He awed with another poke, eventing in Sam encasing his body within a woosh of the silver liquid. "Whoa, the processing power this stuff must take to run… It's kinda cold though." The hispanic man said with a shiver.

"Sam says to tell you she can raised the nanites temperature If you'd like." Judith relayed through her Neural implant.

"That would be… _Duuuude_ , we need one of these for the lab." Cisco said with astonishment as he glanced to Barry, who seemed completely at odds with Cisco's suggestion.

"Starfirrrrreeee, I'm cold too." Jacqueline whined as she curled up from her original sprawled position on my right.

"But you have me to keep you warm, and all that fur." I said while leaning over her like a blanket.

"Fine, but remember, you asked for it." The feline mumbled with half lidded eyes and a smile. I'll tell you, that cat's faster than she looks. Before I had a chance to react, she spun her feet towards me, and hooked them on my waist while she grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. In one fluid movement, Jacqueline pushed with her feet, and pulled with her paws, eventing with me completely sprawled out on top of my wife.

"Was that necessary?" I deadpanned in a muffle from Jacqueline pulling my face into her shoulder, enabling her to nibble at my ear.

"I just have to show you who's in charge, that's all. And I have a blanket now." She whispered into my ear before giving it one final nip.

"I suppose I could stay here. You smell nice after all." I murmured in response.

"Are we just going to stay here tonight? I don't wanna be rude, but I'm not exactly the roughing it type." Cisco commented at my state of imminent slumber.

"Sam, get them some rooms on the Replicator." I whined.

"Wait… do you mean that ship!" He shouted with enthusiasm.

"Ella?" I asked into the air. The response I received was the Arctic fox leaping onto my back, adding a good sixty pounds onto my back.

"Yes." She whispered into my ear. Before I had a chance to voice my disposition, she'd already spun in a circle and curled up on my back, her cold nose tickling my neck.

"Is this normal edicate for him?" Barry inquired.

"I'd think my camera is enough to rationalize that it isn't." Judith replied with a chuckle at my predicament. "Having fun there, Admiral?" She teased with another picture.

"Oh, so much fun." I groaned in response. Being of least strength in my immediate family wasn't the best feeling in some instances, this was one such instance. Jacqueline had a natural two point eight five muscle density compared to her Earth counterpart, something that she made sure to use against me whenever her frisky switch was turned on. Ella on the other hand received her strength from her creation process, which is still a mystery to the both of us out of our 'zero fucks given' attitude towards it. I barely defeat Ella in hand to hand combat nowadays, but Jacqueline's twitch muscles combined with her predatory reflexes made fighting her a game of stamina.

If I could last more than fifteen minutes, she would be tired enough to evade… I never lasted more than five minutes with the small amount of effort I put in to escaping. I think it's more more of a foreplay thing for her species considering what almost always follows her pinning me to the ground. I mean, If I really wanted to escape, I could, but it wasn't one of my top priorities.

"No. If I can just-" I started with a pause due to me reaching for my wedding ring. "Got it." I said as the three of us started floating off the couch with weightlessness.

"DUDE!" Cisco yelped as I pushed myself away from Jacqueline and Ella via pushing myself into the air.

"What? It's just Zero point energy, nothing too fancy…. Now then, I propose we pack it up, I'm pretty tired."

"We still have our honeymoon to go to." Jacqueline squawked as she reoriented herself in the air via counter rotation of the limbs.

"DAAAAAAAD!" Ella shouted from about fifteen feet off the ground; I guess I pushed her a bit harder than I thought.

"Oh, right." I realized with another tap on my ring, bringing all three of us to the ground, Ella with a graceful thump and roll. "Where do you want to go, Gatáki?" I asked as Ella dusted herself off.

"EARTH!"

"...No." I replied after a moment of recoiling.

"But, why not?"

"Trust me, it wouldn't be a vacation." Judith answered with a facial expression of pure disgust.

"And there goes the night." Barry opined. "What happened to you guys?"

"The end of the species… probably. There's about fifteen thousand of us left." She replied.

"Sam, shuttle please?" I asked, which was answered by her reforming from Cisco's encased body.

"It'll be here in two minutes." She replied.

"Thanks… See you tomorrow guys and gals." I said while hoisting Ella over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I was certain Judith would give Barry the full rundown, but I was tired and ready to go home.

Within five minutes after takeoff in the Yf-185 I found myself being coerced to sleep from the dampened sounds of the twin PW-100 engines. Jacqueline was fast asleep in the co-pilot's seat, and Ella was asleep in my arms as Sam autonomously flew us home.

" _Elliot, I'm headed home now; There's an incident starting up that needs my attention."_ Popped up on the holographic message box in front of me.

" _Copy, see you when I see you, Judith."_ I typed before closing my eyes for the ride home. At the time I thought nothing of it, but in hindsight that unsigned message marked the beginning of the end… again.

* * *

 ** _A/N: I think this will be the last bonus chapter unless someone has a specific thing they'd like to see... So if you want me to write something in specific, now would be the time, if not, this book is closed._**


End file.
